The Vikings have an offense capable of exploding for quick scores and a playmaker, Terrence Clyburn, who requires constant attention from opposing defenses. In the teams’ two losses to open the 2011 campaign, including last Friday’s 37-7 setback against Independence, Clyburn has been the focal point of the attack. He’s a threat to run, catch or pass the ball to beat defenses.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, Independence had two players (Dequan Barnes and Austin Duke) similar to Clyburn, and both took advantage of inexperience on the North Meck defense to turn in big plays against the Vikings.
“We are a faster team than we’ve been in a long, long time,” Independence coach Bill Geiler said, of his 2-0 Patriots.
It was little consolation for the Vikings, whose early mistakes last Friday led to Independence scoring 23 points in 3:59, including a sequence in which the Patriots scored on a touchdown, a safety and a kickoff return in a 16-second span.
Four blatant, unnecessary penalties, none of which affected the plays on the field, sunk North Meck. Three of the penalties nullified big gains that stopped a drive as the Vikings, up 7-0 after a Chris Thompson 11-yard touchdown run, were marching in hopes of taking a two-touchdown lead.
“We moved the ball early,” North Meck coach Mike Bradley said. “We had some chances to go up by a couple touchdowns.”
North had momentum, but lost it quickly and couldn’t get it back.
Football on facebook
If football stories were written as status updates on facebook, here’s what the North-Independence game might have looked like last Friday, from the North perspective:
6:57 p.m.: What a perfect night for high school football!
7:01 p.m.: Vikings recover fumble on first play from scrimmage. Wow!
7:15 p.m.: Touchdown Vikings! Spread offense catches Indy off guard. 64-yard drive. Vikes look
unstoppable.
7:27 p.m.: North just blew a great opportunity. Two 20-yard gains by Clyburn nullified by silly
penalties on the other side of the field.
7:35 p.m.: Two more penalties, one nullifying another big gain by Red (Clyburn).
7:37 p.m.: Indy returns free kick for 62-yard touchdown. NM down 16-7 with 2:13 left in first quarter.
7:45 p.m.: Indy 23-7, first play of second quarter. Austin Duke goes across middle again, turns quick
pass into 53-yard score. Things are going south quickly. Gonna be a long night for the Vikes.
Saturday session
Bradley has been coaching for 31 years but the mental mistakes made by his team in the first half last week led him to doing something he’d only done a few times in his career. On Saturday morning, less than 12 hours after the loss to the Patriots, the North Meck football team was back on the field, practicing.
Bradley said the practice was productive.
“They came in moping, sulking, tired,” he said. “After, they said, ‘coach, we need to do this every Saturday.’”
Penalties and silly mental lapses were the reason Bradley had the team practicing on Saturday, but he hopes he won’t have to do it again.
PATs
Friday’s game at East Meck is key for the Vikings, who don’t want to fall to 0-3. The teams are evenly matched, according to Bradley. East Meck has a quick, underrated defense that limited Berry to 16 points last week. … The duo of Garrison Dark and Thompson at running back was a bright spot in last week’s game. Dark was the workhorse with 16 carries, while Thompson scored the lone touchdown for North Meck on an option pitch from quarterback Kelly Hall. … Defensive backs Kadeem Sherrill and Karl Roberts were the leading tacklers last week against the pass-happy Patriots. … North Meck coaches looking at game film this week said the team might have lost as many as 150 yards due to early penalties.
