News : After heart-breaking loss, Vikings travel to Waverly Friday

The Viking freshman preserved a tie with a late goal-line stand vs. Decorah. The Vinton-Shellsburg football team dominated Decorah in every way but on the scoreboard, said Coach Jim Womochil after the Vikings' 7-6 loss at home on Friday. The black and gold Vikings out-gained the blue and white-wearing Vikings by a total of 222 to 153 total yards. VS had better field position throughout the contest, but the score remained tied at zero until late in the game. VS punter Colson Phelps had to chase down a snap that went over his head and through his fingertips, but he managed to scramble to the right sideline and get off a decent kick. A Decorah player attempted to return the punt but was hit by a couple of VS tacklers. The ball bounced behind him; several players followed it until Chase Dunber dived on it and tightly cradled it to his gut with both hands. He remained in that position until standing up and handing it to the official who was signaling that the ball belonged to VS on the Decorah 17 with 5:46 on the clock. The Vikings scored the game's first touchdown with 4 minutes remaining, on a run by Wes Edwards. The PAT kick failed, leaving the Vikings with a 6-0 lead with 4 minutes to play. But long passes set up the Decorah Vikings with first and goal at the one, and they tied the game at six with a minute to play. Their PAT kick was good, and the Vikings had 60 seconds to try to score. After the kickoff, the Vikings were driving near midfield, when VS spiked the ball to stop the clock. But the referee ruled the play a fumble, which Decorah recovered with 20 seconds left. "It's heart-breaking,"� said assistant coach Aric Chvala. "It just hits you in the gut."� Coach Womochil took some of the blame for the loss, saying he should have used the team's final time-out to help the defense adjust to the passing attack Decorah had to use to catch up. He also said the team made mistakes, including penalties in the red zone, that kept them from scoring earlier in the game. "And Decorah doesn't make mistakes,"� Womochil said. Womochil said he could not argue with the official's call; the ruling was based on the referee's observation that the QB had used both hands, and not one to throw the ball toward the turf. The Vikings, after winning against Center Point-Urbana in Week 1, face what coaches say is the toughest part of their 2016 schedule in the next three games. After losing to undefeated Union, they travel to Waverly-Shell Rock (2-1) this week. Freshman game ends in tie The freshman game ended in a 14-14 tie after the third quarter, due to lightning. The VS freshmen defense had just denied Decorah after a goal-line stand that lasted several plays, and the offense had started moving the ball well when referees noticed the lightning strike. Under Iowa High School Athletic Association rules, the game had to be suspended 30 minutes after the last seen lightning. The 4th quarter was cancelled so the varsity game could start on time. Rain had fallen throughout much of the freshmen game, but skies began to clear during the varsity contest. See some photos of both games HERE. See varsity game stats HERE.