The Luxemburg-Casco Spartans rallied but came up short Friday night in losing to the Denmark Vikings 35-30 in North Eastern Conference football action at Leiterman Field on 96.7 WBDK. 

The Spartans trailed by as many as 19 points in the second half and struggled to contain Denmark’s explosive special teams.

Viking running back Nolan Perry scored three touchdowns, including two 90-yard kickoff returns for scores to lead the Vikings.

Ryan Routhieaux had a huge game for L-C, scoring on a 70-yard punt return and returning a fumble 55 yards in the fourth quarter to cut Denmark's lead to five points.

Denmark opened the scoring on a 15-yard scamper by Reis Johnson with 5:55 left in the first quarter.  The Spartans tied it on a 40-yard pass from freshman quarterback Brayden Loritz to Braeden Schley before Perry returned the ensuing kickoff for one of his three scores.

George Herlache kicked a 26-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-10 with 8:16 left in the half, but Denmark would score twice more before intermission to take a commanding 28-10 lead.

Routhieaux electrified the Spartan faithful with his 70-yard punt return to make it 28-16, only to see Perry take the kickoff back for his second TD return of the night with 9:34 left in the third quarter.

Spartan Chris VanderWielen scored on a seven-yard run with 7:22 left in the third quarter to cut the Viking lead to 35-23.

The Spartans had a few chances late but could not get the ball past midfield in the final minutes, as Denmark secured their homecoming win.

Denmark (3-2, 4-3) will now take on Freedom next week, while Luxemburg-Casco (2-3, 4-3 overall) will host Fox Valley Lutheran next Friday night.

 (photo courtesy of Ron LeCloux)