Gibraltar's offense could never find its rhythm, while Florence's wore down the defense in a 52-0 blowout that ended the Vikings' season Friday night.
It looked like it would be slugfest early on as the Vikings forced two early turnovers on strip fumbles, only for the offense to find out that the Bobcats' defense was equally stingy. The Bobcats broke through early in the second quarter on a two-yard run and two-point conversion to make 8-0. After the Vikings were forced to punt again, Joey Holstrom put his stamp on the game with a gritty touchdown run from 20 yards out to make it 14-0.
The biggest sequence of the game happened late in the contest when Braden Sitte was able to spring free for a significant gain on the ground that had him on the doorstep of scoring a touchdown. Sitte would then be picked off on the next play when the Vikings were inside the 10-yard line. His positional counterpart, William Kelley, would then take the next play to the house on a 70-yard gallop to the endzone. Kelley would find the endzone again late in the second quarter to make it 28-0 at the break.
Kelley would force a running clock in the third quarter after he found the endzone a third time to make it 36-0. Holtstrom would score again late in the third quarter, and Dustin Williams found it again in the fourth quarter to make it 52-0. The Vikings would move the ball sparingly through the air late, but the Bobcats' defense swarmed the wide receivers, not allowing for many open looks in the passing game.
The Vikings end their season with a 6-3 record and a berth in the WIAA Playoffs while the Bobcats will have its rematch against Three Lakes/Phelps next Friday in Level Two of the Eight-Player Football Playoffs.
