Vikings win on homecoming over Essex
STANTON—The Stanton Vikings picked up a 48-6 homecoming win Friday night over the Essex Trojans in District 8 football action.
Stanton scored all 48 of their points in the first half, forcing a continuous clock to take place for the second half.
“I thought our kids did a good job of staying focused this week with all the distractions of homecoming,” Stanton Head Coach Jake Nimrod said.
The Vikings first drive was all about Tyler Walter as he returned the opening kick-off to the Essex 24. Two players later, Walter scored on a 21-yard run, which gave Stanton the 8-0 lead.
After a 3-and-out by Essex, Walter scored on a two-yard run to give the Vikings the 14-0 lead.
“I think the focus, we really wanted to run the ball effectively,” Nimrod said.
Stanton scored one more touchdown in the first quarter when Greg Focht returned a punt for 62-yards. The score was 22-0 Stanton, following the two-point conversion.
“Greg Focht did a heck of a job returning stuff, but he had a lot of blockers out there in front of him,” Nimrod said. “It’s hard to get seven other bodies out there and not block anybody in the back and not get it called back.”
The Vikings drove down the field late in the first quarter and scored on the first play in the second on a keeper by quarterback Jeff Marshall. Stanton missed the two-point conversion, but the score was now 28-0.
Stanton scored three more touchdowns in the second half, including a 25-yard reception by Brent Hanson and another punt return for a touchdown by Focht.
Cameron Kinney caught the only touchdown pass of the game for Essex, doing so late in the fourth quarter. Essex missed the two-point conversion.
Focht, who was named Homecoming King the night before, finished the game with three total touchdowns and 112 yards rushing.
Walter also had a 100-yard rushing game, as he finished with 104 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns.
“Our ball carriers kept running hard and at times we had good downfield blocking and that’s very important and that’s going to allow you to run for big plays and rush the ball effectively,” Nimrod said.
Marshall completed 5-of-11passes for 40 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Defensively, Marshall led the team in tackles with 16.
Stanton’s defense was able to sack quarterback Justin Moyer five times. Cody Johnson was responsible for two of those sacks.
The Vikings have a big game this Friday night as they face the Fremont-Mills Knights in Tabor. Stanton lost last year’s meeting, but won the previous nine.
Essex will have their homecoming this week as they play host to the Sidney Cowboys. The Trojans last defeated Sidney in 2007.