Vikings suffer heartbreaking 42-40 loss

by Peter Jakey–

SENIOR BACK Nick Hincka dives into the end zone to give the Posen football team a 14-6 lead in the first quarter of the 2013 season. He rushed for 323 yards and two touchdowns. (Photo by Peter Jakey)

Managing Editor

The Posen Viking football team needs a win tonight at Rapid River to erase the memory of last week’s bitter, opening night loss to Cedarville, 42-40.

The Vikings dominated all aspects of the first quarter and built a 30-6 lead following a 46-yard touchdown run by Nick Hincka on the first play of the second. It was 32-6 after Travis Sharpe caught the two-point conversion.

Cedarville, a perennial playoff contender, who finally may be thin on the sideline for the first time in recent memory, still has the talent to win on the football field and outscored Posen 36-8 in the final three quarters.

The disheartening part of the loss for the players was the fact that the red and white led the entire night. The only time the Vikings did not have the lead was during the final 1:32 of the fourth when it mattered the most.

Chase Lewandowski’s fumble recovery of a ball stripped by Sharpe gave Posen the ball near midfield with 2:17 left and a chance to ice the game. They needed a first down, but on a third-and-three running play, the ball was stolen from a Viking back fighting for extra yards.

That set up a 50-yard bomb to the two and Cedarville’s go-ahead touchdown run on the next play.

Head coach Wayne Karsten said the players admitted earlier this week that they just ran out of gas. They also missed scoring opportunities in the red zone and had a touchdown (TD) pass heading into the arms of Matthew Wisniewski tipped away on a fourth-and-nine play.

There were many bright spots to build on                                            moving toward game two at Rapid River tonight. They pounded the ball on the ground for 488 yards. The Cedarville defense was geared at stopping Hincka, but he still rushed for 323 yards and two touchdowns. The offense was five-for-five on two-point conversions. Sharpe also returned a 92-yard kick off for a touchdown.

Rapid River returns its quarterback, but Karsten was unsure what his supporting cast is going to be. The Rockets won last year 54-14 and 59-0 in 2011. They also won on opening night, 44-12, over Ewen-Trout Creek. The game is the second straight Thursday contest.

Karsten wants the 2013 Vikings to turn the page on the tough loss and find a way to put away the game the next time around. He believes the 2013 team, which includes many returning players, has to find a way to win. They also need to clean up the turnovers. The Vikings lost four in the game.

With the score 8-0, Wisniewski’s interception gave Posen the ball at Cedarville’s 39. Hincka would cap the scoring drive with a 16-yard TD run. He also caught the conversion pass for a 16-0 lead.

Cedarville answered with a 44-yard bomb to get on the board before Sharpe’s kickoff return. The conversion was good for a 24-6 score.

The teams traded fumbles late in the first. Kyle Knopf got the first one. The Trojans got one back, before Jordan Jakubcin got the next, which set up Hincka’s 46-yard TD run.

The Trojans would come back and score on back-to-back possessions, including a 59-yard bomb.

The score was 32-22, but Posen had a chance to answer with two minutes left in the half. They had the ball at Cedarville’s 9 following a 12-yard run by Hincka. A delay of game penalty and an incomplete pass ended the threat. The halftime score was 32-22.

The Vikings came out of the break with a sense of urgency to score on the opening possession of the third quarter. Quarterback (QB) Brandon Dietz, who rushed the ball 20 times for 115 yards, converted a fourth-and-one with a 29-yard run.

On third-and-two at the Cedarville 9, Dietz ran the ball to the Trojan three for a first down. A quarterback sack resulted in a loss of big yardage and a TD pass was tipped away, ahead of a 77-yard TD run to cut Posen’s lead to four.

The Vikings put together an impressive time consuming drive in the fourth. Hincka ran the ball from the 40 to the 19, and on a 3<

sup>rd-and-11, Dietz dragged defenders for a first down to the 6. A few players later the QB scored. The two-point conversion put the Vikes up by 12, 40-28. It looked to be the score that would give Posen its first win over Cedarville since 2004.

The Trojans would drive the field and score to get back within four, 40-36, before the dramatic finish.

Statistics:

Rushing: Nick Hincka 41/323 yards/2 TDs; Brandon Dietz 20/115/2 TDs; Travis Sharpe 11/50.

Passing: Dietz 2-for-6/18 yards/Int.

Receiving: Sharpe 2/6

Defense: Hincka 10 tackles; Kyle Knopf 7.