During the last weeks they ran practices in the pitch dark, the field lit by the glare of a fire truck spotlight. When the snow got too deep, they moved inside the gym – and kept running. Then the power went out.

“The boys were actually running lines in the gym by the light of the exit signs,” said coach Bob Phalan.

The Vikings football team plowed through adversary lines like a freight train this year, gathering momentum as it went. They won back the Island Cup, which Friday Harbor has held for six years. They triumphed over all seven teams of a newly expanded 2B league, securing a co-league championship. They capped it off with a third place state finish.

“It was a great year, an amazing year,” said head coach Scott Harris. “Going into the year… I knew we were losing a lot of game experience in the graduating class from last year. Our number one priority was to get our younger guys to learn how to play football at the varsity level; it takes a full team to be able to be competitive. My hat’s off to the young, inexperienced guys who really matured over the season. It was only possible through a nucleus of highly competitive and great leaders, a core of our returning seniors.”

Harris said players who started the season with significant playing time were seniors Justin Leidecker, Jacob Hansen, Michael Langworthy, Patrick Lancaster and Tommy Granger, along with sophomore Jake Zier and junior Robbie Padbury.

“Leidecker, Hansen and Langworthy really worked hard in the off season and really led us as battle-trusted players,” Harris said. “They played well on both offense and defense. Robbie Padbury really is a sensational quarterback. Connor O’Neal really helped the team out, as a kid who never played football before, and was a real contributor for us on defense.”

The team also nabbed a passel of All-League selections, including Coach of the Year for Harris. The selections are as follows:

First team, offense: senior Justin Leidecker, offensive line; junior Tyler Jensen, offensive line; junior Robbie Padbury, quarterback; senior Michael Langworthy, running back; junior Keenan Phalan, wide receiver. Second team, offense: Jacob Hansen, running back. Honorable mention, offense: Sophomore Jake Zier, offensive line; sophomore Devon Stanzione, wide receiver. First team, defense: Jacob Hansen, linebacker; Robbie Padbury, defensive back. Second team, defense: Jake Zier, defensive line; Justin Leidecker, linebacker; Michael Langworthy, defensive back. Honorable mention, defense: senior Connor O’Neil, defensive line; Tyler Jensen, defensive line. Special Teams: Robbie Padbury, punter.

“It’s a testament to the success of the season,” said Harris. “I’m just so proud and happy for them.”

Coaches who led the team this year include head coach and defensive coordinator Harris, special teams coach Dale Briggs, linebacker coach Mark Padbury, lineman coach Dennis Dahl, offensive coordinator Mike Gage, wide receiver coach and medical coverage organizer Phalan and kicker coach Mike Parnell; strength and conditioning coach Max Crispi led 6 a.m. workouts.

“The success of the season could be attributed to the work in January led by strength and conditioning coach Max Crispi,” Harris said.

Phalan said he felt that expectations from fans and adversaries were not high this year.

“At the beginning of the season they said we wouldn’t make the playoffs,” Phalan said. “They said the Vikings couldn’t replace nine starting seniors from the 2009 league championship team and succeed. They said the Vikings couldn’t win in Friday Harbor; we went there and won for the first time in six years … They said the Vikings couldn’t beat Concrete in Concrete; we [knocked] them out of their bid to be undefeated league champs. They said the Vikings couldn’t win a playoff game against Morton-White Pass, the #4 team in the state, and we shut them out! They said the Vikings could not possibly beat Tacoma Baptist after losing 35-0 to them earlier in the season; we won in startling fashion. And they said we would never play in the Tacoma Dome. The Vikings played there and competed well.”