by Marty Zier
Sports contributor
Cross country
The Viking Cross Country team had a great finish to the end of their successful season. The following students are headed to state: Stephen Hohman Jr., Millie Kau, Luke Pietsch and Cyrus Amour.
Head coach Laura Hohman commented, “Needless to say I’m so proud and excited that this year we have four runners that have qualified to run at state this year. Both the girls and boys competed last Saturday at Districts in Onalaska and South Whidbey. Our girls Millie Kau and Emma Thoron ran very well. Our boys team comprised of Cyrus Amour, Leif Gustafson, Stephen Hohman Jr., Ewan Lister and Luke Pietsch ran a hard race and placed third competing against districts 1, 2 and 3. They, however, did not make it to state as a team, only first and second place get to state … The team has trained so many hours and miles. I hope they are as proud of themselves as I am.”
The state meet is a 5,000-meter course at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco Nov. 5.
Boys Soccer
The Vikings men’s soccer team finished off a strong regular season, securing a playoff berth in the Tri-District Tournament. Coach Terry Turner said, “The Orcas Vikings have secured third place in the Northwest 1B/2B District 1, seeding the team to a playoff game against the District 2/4 second place seed. We are really liking our bracket position right now going into Tri-Districts. This is the best finish we’ve had to the regular season in recent memory. Our team is both excited and confident as we head towards playoffs. Leading up to the playoffs have been some exciting moments, starting with our 1-0 home match win against Friday Harbor. Our defense was the key to that game. We won in penalty kicks with successful shots from Levi Moss, Henry McMurray, Ethan White and an final emphatic pounding goal from Ismael Rodriguez. Kupono Anuenue at goal keeper was the hero of the game with two great penalty kick stops and almost a third.”
He also noted the game against Cedar Park, where the defense “played great,” and sophomore Ethan White stepped up with two goals for the 2-0 shutout.
The playoffs start with the Vikings facing Tacoma Baptist on Nov. 1 in Tacoma.
Girls soccer
The Lady Vikings soccer team finished their challenging season with a 5-1 loss to Mt. Vernon Christian on Oct. 27.
Head coach Chris Doherty anticipated a strong 2016 season with the addition of a core freshman group of new, talented players. What Doherty did not expect is how much playing time his young players would get. Due to early season injuries to multiple experienced players, the veteran Viking team quickly disseminated into a young team without many of its leaders on the field.
“All the injured players will be fine, and the benefit is the younger players were forced to play and gained a tremendous amount of experience they normally would not get until next year,” Doherty said. “These girls faced a lot of adversity throughout the season and showed a huge amount of determination, grit and sportsmanship. They never gave up, not once. I am very proud of them.
Volleyball
Viking volleyball head coach Rebekah Hardee is optimistic about one more chance to make the playoffs after a season that did not meet expectations.
“We finished the regular season with a record of 4-8. We did not finish as strong as we hoped,” she said. “But we have one more chance to make the playoffs because we split the season with Concrete during the regular season. Concrete, with a 3-9 record, beat us in the first match and we won the second, so we have to play them again with the loser out and the winner off to play La Conner in the playoffs.”
The playoffs are Nov. 2 at 11:30 a.m. in Mt. Vernon.
Football
The Viking football team finally got a game under their belt after Friday Harbor and Darrington declining to play eight-man football and a game cancelled due to weather. The Vikings lost to La Conner 64-38.
“The first quarter we received the ball and scored after a run by quarterback Miles Harlow preceded by passes to Ivan Bullock, Hayden Simpson and Matthew Mullan,” said Head Coach Justin Frausto. “The drive was capped by a 25-yard touchdown run by Harlow. Our defense was fresh and was looking good despite the score. We drove down on our second drive and scored on a five-yard run by Harlow. We ended the first quarter La Conner up 21 to 14. We came out in the third quarter and scored with a 30-yard catch and run by Bullock. We scored again on a 60-yard half back pass by Bullock to Jordan Randolph. We had a couple players with career days: Bullock had 12 catches for 243 yards and 2 TDs, Harlow was 20/28 passing for 387 yards and 2 TDs and 13 carriers for 155 yards and 2 TDs. Our defense was led by Bullock with 14 tackles and a sack, Gunnar Sandwith with eight tackles and Harlow with eight tackles and a sack.”
The Vikings play Seattle Lutheran at home on Nov. 3 at 2:30 p.m.
