Vikings Pile Up Yardage and Blank the Bears
In Valhalla’s previous game at Woodlands, anguish filled the sideline and smiles would have been hard to find on the face of any Viking player or coach.
Fast-forward to Friday night’s home game against Briarcliff when, with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the outcome long since decided, a few Valhalla players dunked assistant coach Louis Angiolillo with a container of Gatorade.
“This was the most fun the kids have had in my four years here,” Valhalla head coach Kevin Martins said afterwards. “This is the game they enjoyed the most.”
And with a final of 27-0 in favor of the Vikings, it’s no wonder why. Valhalla put on a clinic on both sides of the ball, easily running away with its second win of the season against an overmatched and undermanned Briarcliff team. The Bears, who dropped to 2-2, fought hard, but eventually the powerful running attack from the Vikings was just too much.
Valhalla’s offense racked up 384 yards on the ground, with contributions from multiple players. Going into the game, the Vikings knew playing smash-mouth football would suit them best.
“We were thinking the whole week, smash it at them,” senior captain Michael Linnane said. “If they can’t stop us, then just keep running with us.”
While the Vikings excelled with their rushing game, they were still missing a game-changing play to get on the board in the first half.
But midway through the second quarter, that moment finally arrived. On a quarterback keeper, Miro Ronac ran right through his blocks practically untouched,and then won a foot race against a few Briarcliff players in the secondary to score on a 27-yard touchdown run, putting Valhalla up 7-0 following the extra point. For the game, the junior quarterback ran for 161 yards on 13 carries.
After the Vikings finally got on the scoreboard, they had little trouble finding the end zone again. Near the end of the first half, Valhalla went ahead 13-0 on a first-and-goal TD completion from Ronac to wideout Terrance Tribble. Then just a couple minutes into the third quarter, a long run by Ronac set the stage for Christian Alvarado’s first of two touchdowns that increased the Viking advantage to 19-0.
But the drive that impressed Martins the most was a 14-play, 98-yard drive that took almost 12 minutes off the clock. For those 12 minutes, essentially a quarter of play, the Vikings ran full steam ahead, with each play exhausting the Bears just a little bit more. The drive ended with another Alvarado touchdown run, up the middle from a couple of yards out.
“I was overjoyed with that drive,” Martins said. “That’s the sort of drive you need in a successful season.”
While Valhalla had 98 yards on just one possession, the Briarcliff offense was held to less than 100 total yards as Linnane, Tribble and Paul Viviano each registered seven tackles for Valhalla. Linnane also pulled down an interception.
Briarcliff head coach John Consorti, who has a roster of just 21 players, refused to point to his team’s small numbers as the reason for its poor play.
“We should be seeing some progress in certain areas and we’re just going to have to work a little harder to get that progress,” Consorti said. “Yeah, it’s difficult when you have low numbers and you’re not a very big team, but that’s no excuse.”
The last drive for Briarcliff was probably its most efficient, with quarterback Kevin Wolff using his arm and legs to get the Bears within field goal range. But Matt Pasternak’s 40-yard field goal attempt, the only drama of the fourth quarter, landed just wide of the upright, enabling Valhalla to maintain its shutout.
