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2009-11-20

2009-11-18

2009-11-05

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Wednesday, November 04, 2009 12:12 AM

Photo by Elliot J. Sutherland/The Ottawa Herald

Central Heights High School sophomore Jimmy Hoskins runs with the ball after coming down with an interception during the first quarter of the Vikings’ home game against Osage City. Central Heights went on to lose the game, 37-14.

Osage City ends Central Heights' football season

By Mike Webber/Special to the Herald

The Central Heights Vikings battled through district play for the right to host a first-round game in the state playoffs.

They knew coming into the game that their hard-earned home field advantage would mean little if they were unable to stop the Osage City Indian’s star quarterback, Jordan Tice.

Tice came into the game with more than 2,000 yards rushing in the first nine games of the season, and by the end of the evening, he had added another 310 yards.

His big night, coupled with some key Viking mistakes, led to a 37-14 Indian victory.

“He is shifty, and he runs hard,” Viking head coach Mike Swendson said. “A lot of the yards he got he got on his own, not because of great blocking. Half of the yards he got were after he broke tackles, and he broke a lot of ankles out there tonight.”

“We told our kids this week that typically the team with the fewest turnovers and fewest penalties wins these games.”

The coach’s prediction held true. The turnovers were tied at two apiece, but the Vikings’ 10 penalties kept them for being able to the punch the ball in for scores in the first half.

The Vikings stopped the Indians’ first drive of the game when Jimmy Hoskins intercepted an errant pass. They were unable to capitalize, however, because two plays later Osage City’s Trey Fort stripped the ball away from a Viking runner.

That gave the Indians the ball at the Viking 19-yard line. Seven plays later, Tice ran the ball up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown run to open the scoring.

The Vikings moved the ball on the next drive from their own 28 to the Indians’ 8-yard line. Osage City’s Preston Conner intercepted a ball in the end zone and ran it out to his own 3-yard line.

The Indians needed just eight plays to move the ball 97 yards to extend their lead.

Tice scored from the 1-yard line on a quarterback sneak to make the score 14-0.

The Indians scored again on their next possession, this time taking advantage of a short field using seven plays to move the ball 39 yards.

The Indians’ Sultan Cousin got the score this time on a 9-yard run on an option play. The score at the half was 21-0.

Osage City received the second half kickoff and moved the ball 54 yards in three plays to make the score 28-0. Tice got his third touchdown of the game on a 29-yard scramble.

The Vikings finally got on the board on the next possession. They put together an 11-play, 54-yard drive leading to a 14-yard touchdown pass reception by Hoskins from Skye Mills. The score narrowed the gap to 28-6.

The scoring was unchanged until midway through the fourth quarter when an Osage City punt pinned the Vikings at their own 2-yard line.

On the Vikings’ first play from scrimmage Osage City’s Trevor Frye broke through the line and tackled the ball carrier in the end zone for a safety.

The free kick that followed gave the Indians great field position, and on the third play of the drive Cousins took a toss 31 yards around the right end for a touchdown.

The final score of the game was another Mills to Hoskins touchdown pass.

Hoskins pulled in a 19-yard pass on a fly pattern with 39 seconds to go in the game.

Mills was 13 of 21 passing for the game for 202 yards.

Tice had 310 yards rushing on 30 carries. He was also six of 13 passing for 75 yards. Cousins had 79 yards rushing on eight carries.

The Vikings’ season concluded with a 4-6 record, including the playoff loss. First-year head coach Swendson was proud that his team battled.

“We opened the season with a win. Then we had three straight losses,” he said.

“That was a tough time, but we recovered in time to win our district.”

Swendson said he learned a lot from his first year running the program.

“We need to step up our preparation of the little details,” he said.

“The team needs to be better prepared mentally for some of the situations that occur.”

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Osage City ends Central Heights' football season

By Mike Webber/Special to the Herald

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article | Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article |
Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.