Badger JV loses heartbreaker to Coeur D'Alene 14-12
By K. Doc Toline
The word was out that the junior varsity was to play the much better Coeur d’ Alene Vikings. That it was a much larger school, 5-A to be exact and that it would be ok if the Badgers lost.
Think of it as a training game, experience and just as long as they at least made a fairly good showing they would still be able to hold their heads up. Well someone forgot to tell the blue pride that, and what a showing they made.
The Badgers went on to Viking Field and battled the Cda team for four full quarters with coach Cory Richards’ blue brick wall defense holding the Vike’s offense to 167 total yards.
The Badgers put numbers on the board first with a two yard plunge by Ethan Racer. The try for a two point conversion failed as the Viking defense stopped the attempt at the goal line. Both teams moved up and down the field for the remainder of the first half with extremely hard hitting and awesome displays of blocking and running.
The teams went to their corners at halftime with the Badgers clinging to a 6-0 lead. Early into the third quarter the Vikes wide receiver got behind the Badger defender and caught a pass for 50 yards and a touchdown. The PAT kick was good putting the Vikings on top for the first time by a score of 7-6.
The Badgers were determined to answer. Taking the kickoff from their own twenty eight the Badgers drove to the forty with two back to back sweeps by Ben Neumeyer.
On the next play the Badgers scored with QB Connor Bennett firing a precision strike down the middle of the field to Kyler Rice for 60 yards and six. The try for the two pointer failed.
The score was now Bonners Ferry Badgers 12 and the Coeur D’Alene Vikings 7. The Badgers started the final period with determination, and the confidence that this was their game.
The ball changed hands many times and the plays on both the offense and defense kept the game at a 10 on the excitement level. With 1:32 left on the clock and the Badgers up by five points, a Viking drive punched the ball to the Badgers one yard line, and a new set of downs.
The blue pride defense could have given up at this point knowing they indeed had made a good showing against Cda. But, that was not in their playbook. On first down the Vikes tried to power the ball over the goal line but were stopped with no gain. On the second attempt the ball carrier was stopped short of the line of scrimmage.
The Badgers dug in as the Vikings approached the ball. At the snap the two teams collided at the line of scrimmage. The whistle blew and the Richards’ wrecking crew had stopped the Vikings again for no gain. The clock was now at 1:15 and the two teams now faced each other on fourth down at the one yard line.
The Badgers just had to hold the Vikings for this one down, and they would have the ball and the win.
The Viking QB took the ball, rolled right after being flushed out of the pocket by the defense, and passed the ball to his receiver going to the right side of the end zone. The ball hit the ground and bounced up into the receivers hands. The Badgers and their fans broke into cheers, as the Coeur d’Alene coaches and sidelines displayed obvious dismay at the incomplete pass. But, it was not to be. To everyone’s disbelief the referee held his arms up to signal a touchdown awarding the hard fought contest to the Vikings.
The Badgers had fought proudly as a team to only have the victory, as it appeared, taken away by a questionable call. Defensively for the Badgers, Quinn Cummings spent as much time in the Vikings backfield as their running backs did , and had 10 solo tackles and three assists with two sacks. Ben Neumeyer added five solo and seven assists.
On the O side of the ball QB Connor Bennett passed for a 57 percent completion rate. But, it was Bennett’s excellent read of the Vikings defensive sets that allowed the passing game to be as successful as it was.
The Badgers tallied 246 total yards against the Viking defense. There could be no real offensive or defensive player of the game named as all the Badgers played proudly together as one team, and all deserved the laurels of a champion. They can indeed hold their heads up high with genuine pride. However, there is one other factor that absolutely needs to be mentioned.
After the emotional loss, and as the coaches were addressing the team in the end zone after the game, the whole of the Badger faithful and parents who traveled to the game came out of the stands, surrounded their football team and applauded them for nearly five minutes. Now that folks is true class.
Comments on this article are welcomed by Doc at choctawdoc@gmail.com