OCTOBER 12, 2011 - INTER-COUNTY LEADER - NEWS SECTION - A - PAGE 21
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Siren boys unable to contain the ‘Greens Northwood/Solon Springs 48, Siren 14
The ‘Greens rarely go to the air and for good reason. They are a true force on the ground, and Siren was their latest victim. The Dragons gave them a run in the first half, but faded in the second half. “Defensively, it took all 11 guys to stop the triple option threat,” Hoefler admitted. “Their quarterback [Larson] did an excellent job of running the ball as we had a hard time containing him.” Siren is on the bubble for a playoff berth and faces another daunting task in fellow Small Lakeland foe Frederic on the road Friday, Oct. 14. “The kids realize this week against Frederic they need to play all 48 minutes or it could be a very long game,” Hoefler said. “We are still hopeful of a playoff birth, so the kids are very excited about that. Northwood is behind us, and Frederic is next.”
by Greg Marsten Leader staff writer SIREN – The Northwood/Solon Springs Evergreens gobbled up huge volumes of real estate against the hosting Dragons on the road Friday, Oct. 7, beating the Siren boys by a 48-14 final. “Two halves of football for us,” stated Siren head coach Bill Hoefler. “We did well the first half. However, the second half we were just not motivated and didn’t play well.” The Dragons began strong, scoring twice in the first half, first on a Murdock Smith 3-yard run, and then later on an electrifying 90-yard kickoff return by senior Evan Oachs. But the Evergreens were a true ground force, racking up six Phillip Larson scores over the game. The senior quarterback Larson used their triple option like magic, and he would tally 188 yards on 18 carries, while teammate Josh Malone would register no scores, but had 200 yards rushing on 21 carries. Third option Tyler Long almost hit 100 yards, also, getting 95 yards on 10 carries.
The Siren Dragons football team will have a tough test against the Vikings this week, but have already savored one of the most successful seasons in recent memory. – Photo by Mackenzie Erickson
Frederic football/continued just four plays later, Peter Chenal scored on a 20-yard touchdown run, which came with 6:52 remaining in the game. Frederic was able to put another eight points up on the board just a few minutes later, when the Cardinals lost possession of the ball on a fumble near their own 20yard line, and two plays later, Buck took it 16 yards for the score on a well-executed draw play. The Vikings were successful in completing a two-point conversion pass to Ian Lexen, and the Vikes rolled on to another conference win.
Stellar season in ‘68 Times were different in 1968. Football teams in the St. Croix Valley Conference only played seven games, which included games against Unity, Osceola, Amery, St. Croix Falls, Grantsburg, Luck and Webster. The Vikings won big in all seven games that year, starting with a 32-13 win over St. Croix Falls, a 14-0 win over Luck and a 38-19 win over Webster. They defeated Oscola 20-6, Amery 46-32 and Grantsburg, 39-6. The Unity Eagles were also undefeated that year leading up to their final game of the season against Frederic, but Frederic won a decisive 34-7 game, under former Vikings football coach Darryl Wikstrom. The championship game was played at Milltown’s Mellgren Field. It was the third time in school history that the Vikings went undefeated. Frederic also had undefeated teams during the 1947-48 season and 1955-56 season.
The 1968 St. Croix Valley grid champions included: front row (L to R): Dale Johnson, Roger Beecroft, Bruce Erickson, Jim Shattuk, Tom Moats, Rick Anderson, John Grindell, Scott Wilder, Jeff Moats, Bob Johnson and Gary Lenz. Second row: Louis Olson, Rick Ecklof, Jim Pearson, Jim Prodger, Bob Haumant, Francis Byerly, Eric Simonsen, Steve Anderson, Larry Linder and Tim Ryan. Third row: Matthew Olson, David Beecroft, Jerry Shattuck, Tim Sheehan, John Olson, Scott Nelson, Ken Hackett, Louis Merrill, Lee Johnson, Bruce Lundquist and Denny O’Donnell, manager. Fourth row: Coach Tom Funne, coach Darryl Wikstrom, Richard Kettula, Earl Wilson, Don Potter, Mike Malinovsky, Jeff Miller, Jack Route, Dale Nelson, Brad Harlander and managers Bob Moore and Steve Wilder. – Leader file photo
The captains of the Viking’s ship celebrate their Heritage Cup trophy after a big win over rival Luck on Friday, Oct. 7. – Photo by Marty Seeger
In this photo, the four lone seniors on the 1968 Vikings SCVC championship team accept the SCVC conference football trophy from coach Darryl Wikstrom. From (L to R): Rick Anderson, Dale Johnson, Tom Moats, Gary Lenz and coach Wikstrom. – Leader file photo