POULSBO — The North Kitsap Vikings proved that special teams play can make all the difference in the world Friday night.
In the final game of the season, the North Kitsap Vikings (4-6 overall) cruised to a 48-23 victory against the visiting Port Angeles Roughriders (3-7 overall) at North Kitsap Stadium.
Vikings kick returner Jamaal Smith took the opening kickoff 85 yards to pay dirt giving the Vikings an early 7-0 lead, igniting the crowd at the onset of the contest. The hole was so massive Smith didn’t have to make many moves. He just sprinted up the middle of the field behind his blockers.
“The Red Sea kind of parted there,” said Vikings coach Steve Frease. “Jamaal made one move and he was gone. That put them on their heels.”
Vikings punt returner Taylor Chisholm put the Vikings up 14-0 on a 49-yard punt return for a touchdown with 8:36 left in the first quarter. Chisholm appeared to have made a questionable decision fielding the punt near midfield after it had rolled about five yards. He was surrounded, but was able to break free of at least four or five would-be tacklers before finding room in the open field, where no one was going to catch him before strolling into the endzone.
“One of our guys peeled back and nailed one of Port Angeles guys to spring Chisholm,” Frease said. “It will be fun to watch on film. Our special teams played well tonight. It made a huge difference in the game.”
The Vikings offense got rolling when quarterback Kevin Stringer hit Chisholm on a post route for a 53-yard touchdown pass with 3:34 remaining in the first period, extending North’s lead to 21-7. Senior running back Kyle Brose scored on a 4-yard touchdown plunge, kicker Zach Sampson added a 23-yard field goal and Greg Ottele scored on a one-yard touchdown run on the Vikings’ next three ensuing possessions extending the lead to 38-7 with 50 seconds left in the second quarter. Brose scored again on a 8-yard run with six seconds left in the quarter.
The Vikings headed off to the locker room at halftime with an insurmountable 45-7 lead.
The highlight of the night came in the third quarter when Sampson nailed a 39-yard field goal breaking the school record set by current assistant coach Jeff Weible and Chuck Alexander. Weible hit his 37-yarder in 1987.
“I know Chuck Alexander hit a 37-yard field goal but I’m not sure what year,” said longtime Vikings football coach Virg Taylor. “That was a big kick by Zach.”
Weible wasn’t fazed to see his school record get broken.
“It had to happen sometime,” he said with a smile.
North senior running back Greg Ottele was full of emotion in his final game on the gridiron as a Viking.
“It’s our last game together,” he said. “We’ll never get to play together on this field again. “Even though this game didn’t mean anything playoff wise, it meant everything to the seniors and to the program. We got to finish with a win at home and ended the season on a good note.”
Brose said the impact of the final game of his high school career didn’t seem real just yet.
“It hasn’t hit met yet. I’m sure it will in the next couple of days though,” he said. “Right now I’m totally soaking this in. Most of us have been together since we were in the seventh grade. We have countless memories together and are a close group.”
Vikings offensive lineman Jordan Edje said he was glad to see his team come out of its final match-up of the season victorious.
“We totally blew them (Port Angeles) away,” he said. “It’s big going out with a win. This is the kind of game you want to leave on.”
With North likely dropping down to the Olympic League during the 2007-08 school year, the Vikings showed what kind of powerhouse they can be when they face schools their own size.
“We’ll probably be back in the Olympic League next year,” Frease said. “I think our kids re-entered pretty well.”
