Posen drops U.P. contest; could get Hincka back Friday

by Peter Jakey–Managing Editor

One week after Nick Hincka set a new single-game rushing record with 302 yards at Bellaire, the junior suffered a knee injury at Engadine and didn’t finish the game. He suffered the injury late in the third quarter and was taken off the field in an ambulance.

The Vikings (1-5) were only down by eight at the time, and were starting to put together their best drive of the second half when quarterback Brandon Dietz executed a perfect shuttle pass to Hincka, who had a big hole and lots of running room when Hincka went down.

After a long delay to tend to the young man, Posen had the ball first and 10 at the Engadine 30.

SENIOR MARTIN Mulka tries to pull away from a defender during first half action last Friday at Engadine. He was second on the team in receiving and set up Posen’s first touchdown with a 43 yard catch. (Photo by Peter Jakey)

The Vikings would turn the ball over on downs and never recover from the loss of their emotional co-captain.

Hincka was going to see a doctor Wednesday to check the extent of the injury and see if he is cleared to play Friday.

The Eagles, who were playing their homecoming game, scored 34 unanswered points in the second half. The final was 54-24.

The final road trip of the regular season is the longest Friday night as they play at Rock Mid-Peninsula (2-4). They defeated Bellaire in week one, 26-22, but lost to Ewen-Trout Creek (E-TC) last week, 70-48. The Vikes lost to Bellaire and defeated E-TC.

POSEN DOMINATED the first quarter, starting the game with a nine-play drive that ended on a Dietz interception at the Engadine 10. The defense stopped the home team and forced a three-and-out.

Travis Sharpe launched a bomb at midfield on a reverse pass to Martin Mulka, who was stopped at the Engadine 7. A couple of plays later, a Dietz pass to Hincka from 5 yards out put the Vikings up by six. Dietz ran in the conversion to make it 8-0.

The defense stopped them again with Jordan Jakubcin putting an exclamation point on a nice defensive stand with a solo tackle on fourth down. The ball went to Posen at their own 47. They were moving the ball when the quarter ended. On fourth and three at the Eagle 20, the Vikings were stopped and turned the ball over on downs to open the second.

The Engadine then broke a 52-yard run. Mulka made a touchdown saving tackle, but the Eagles scored two plays later on a 17-yard run. The conversion failed and Posen kept the 8-6 lead.

Back on offense, Dietz was picked off at the 50 on a third down play and the Eagles needed six plays to take a 12-8 lead on a 9-yard TD run. The conversion was good for a 14-8 Engadine lead.

THE VIKINGS

ong> would answer with a solid drive to seize the momentum and set up a 7-yard run from Dietz. The conversion pass from Dietz to Sharpe made it 16-14 with 3:13 left in the half.

Engadine would return the ensuing kickoff 80 yards and take the lead right back. The score was 20-16.

Posen kept fighting and drove the field in six plays. Dietz connected with Sharpe for 50 yards, Hincka ran for 16 and 13 yard runs on back-to-back plays, and Dietz finished it off with a 7-yard TD strike to Lucas Litwinski. A Dietz pass to Mulka made it 24-20 at the half. It would be all the scoring the Vikings could muster.

Late in the game, the Vikes converted an exciting hook and ladder play with Sharpe catching a 10-yard pass and pitching it to Litwinski for another 35 yards. The drive would stall in the last minute.