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John L. Braese
VALE – The football game heralded as one to watch proved to be everything fans wanted as the Vale Vikings needed overtime to down the visiting Burns Hilanders, 18-12, on Friday, Oct. 4, in the district opener for both teams.
The showdown pitted two top six teams according to the OSAA rankings on the field staring down each other. Two top defenses. Offenses showcasing the run versus the passing game. The lone negative of the game was the temporary power outage affecting the stadium lights that sent both teams to the locker room for a short time while fans sat in the dark questioning if the game would be continued to Saturday.
The Hilanders were the first team to find the scoreboard as Kale Cornell found open field for a 25-yard run with the clock reading 8:30 left in the first quarter. The two-point conversion failed and Burns led 6-0.
Burns held the lead until early in the second quarter as Vale senior Kase Schaffeld scored the first of his three touchdowns, going around the right side for a 47-yard run. As with Burns, Vale failed to convert on the two-point conversion and with 9:29 left in the second quarter, the score stood tied 6-6.
At the 9:07 mark, the power gods took control of the game with the stadium lights going dark. After discussions among all involved, Vale and Burns were both sent to the locker room to wait out the problem. Approximately 20 minutes later, the lights were back up and the teams were back on the field.
Burns looked to be on the move before a fumble near the goal line squashed the drive. An ensuing Viking drive was furthered after a fake punt picked up a first down but Vale returned the favor by turning the ball back to Burns on a fumble. With under one minute on the clock before halftime, a Hilander drive was halted by an interception by Vale junior Troy Dalton and the two squads went into the locker room tied at six.
The majority of the third quarter was placed in the middle of the field with defense taking the lead for both teams. Burns finally broke the Vale defense and scored with 1:12 showing on the clock as quarterback Jack Wright taking off on a 10-yard run for the score.
The Vikings again tied up the game with 4:34 left when Schaffeld pushed the Burns defense back the one yard needed to reach the endzone.
The Hilanders had not one, but two chances to win the game after the Vale defense committed penalties with no time left on the clock. Burns was unable to put the points on the board and both teams prepared for overtime with the score tied at 12.
Taking the ball first in overtime, Burns was unable to move the ball. Vale won the game as Schaffeld again went around the right side to claim the 18-12 overtime victory.
The Vale offense was all Schaffeld as the senior had 44 carries for 258 yards and all three scores. The Viking offense again exceeded 300 yards of offense, putting up 301 yards, 285 of those on the ground.
The Hilander offense went the other way as Wright ended 14-for-34 passing for 177 of the total 232 yards of offense for Burns. Senior Easton Kemper was Wright’s favorite target, hauling in six receptions for 104 yards. Junior Colten Wright had three catches for 45 yards. In addition to his first quarter score, Cornell carried six times for 35 yards.
The win propels Vale to the top of the OSAA rankings with four 3A teams in the state still without a loss. Burns falls to seventh in the rankings as both the Vikings and Hilanders head into the 3A Special District 6 play.
