On a foggy Saturday in the October mud, the Vikings held the La Conner Braves 28-6 with by-the-book offense and an intelligent defense that read the Braves’ offensive plays perfectly. And the Vikings would have had a shut out on their hands had it not been for a La Conner Brave escaping the Vikings’ grip in the fourth quarter with three minutes left to go in the game. The Braves finally put six points up on the board, but it was too late for La Conner.

Vikings Daniel Janssen, defensive tackle for the Vikings, said, “We knew it was going to be tough playing the Braves, knowing that this was a league game. We’re first in the league now, undefeated.”

La Conner played with intensity but was not able to generate the drive to get down the field and through the end zone.

“We had success running the football in the first half,” Vikings head coach Dennis Dahl said. “We had 12 running plays down the field in the first quarter, and we were fortunate to make good on those.”

And the Vikings did make good. Tyler Nigretto scored on a three yard run in the first quarter, then Taylor Diepenbrock caught the two point conversion from quarterback Robbie Padbury. The Vikings turned over the ball to the La Conner Braves, but the Viking defense read the offensive spread of the Braves like pros. The Vikings stopped the Braves cold, the Braves kicked off to the Vikings, and Michael Langworthy took the ball, found the crack in the Braves’ offense, and ran for a 14 yard touch down. Nigretto made the two point conversion and the score was 16-0 in the first quarter.

“I talked to Mike Compton, coach of the La Conner Braves, after the game. I’ve known him for over 40 years,” Dahl commented. “They’ve (La Conner) not had things go their way this year. We’re all very close in this league and every week, it’s a battle.”

Partly because of weather and partly due to La Conner’s coverage, Viking quarterback Robbie Padbury was forced to keep passing to a minimum. The Vikings ran for 251 yards rushing and threw for 89 yards. Padbury threw five for ten.

“We study the DVDs of the other team in regards to the other team’s defense,” Dahl said. “You try to give your kids a solid chance to stop the basic plays so they have the tools to play good defense. Scott Harris and Mark Padbury are the defensive coaches and they do a great job at that.”

Henry Bredouw, Janssen, and Jacob Hansen made several stunning tackles that stopped Brave ball carriers Alan Coe, Langworthy, and Diepenbrock as well had a great game, picking up gains that kept the Vikings marching down the field.

In the third quarter, the Braves and the Vikings squared off again and desperate for points, the Braves struggled offensively to find a hole in the Vikings’ brick wall of a defense, and five times they were repulsed. The ball turned over to the Vikings and immediately Nigretto ran for a 30 yard gain that ended in a touchdown dance in the endzone, making the score 28-0. But penalties plagued the Vikings; twice the Vikings were called offsides and there were several holding calls that lost the Vikings valuable yardage.

The Vikings play again Saturday, Oct. 24 at 12:30 p.m. for homecoming. Their opponent will be Concrete.