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Vikings shut out Chino Valley 50-0 for first win of season
Williams heads to Camp Verde Friday, next home game Sept. 26

Williams Vikings quarterback Kyle Ernst. Ryan Williams/WGCN

Williams Vikings quarterback Kyle Ernst. Ryan Williams/WGCN

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - After starting the season with two disappointing losses, the Williams High School Vikings football team was able to turn things around with their first win of the season Sept. 12.

The Vikings played an aggressive game and defeated Chino Valley 50-0.

"I attribute the success of our win on Friday night to our offensive and defensive line as they actually controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball," head coach Jeff Brownlee said. "When that happens we have a lot of success running and passing the ball on the offensive side and we have a great opportunity with our linebackers making good flow on the defensive side of the ball," Brownlee said.

Neither team scored in the first quarter. The Vikings were able to move the ball downfield, but some key penalties prevented them from scoring.

In the second quarter, Kyle Ernst completed a 24-yard pass to Daniel Lopez bringing the ball to the one yard line. Damon Alvarado completed the one yard touchdown run to bring the score to 6-0. A two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

On a future Viking possession, Chino Valley intercepted the ball at the one yard line. However, the Vikings were able to turn it around with a safety.

"Defensively we made a heck of a stand," Brownlee said. Martin Soria initiated the safety, which gave the Vikings an 8-0 lead.

After stopping Chino Valley on their next possession, the Vikings scored again with Ernst making a 10-yard touchdown run around the left side. Ernst completed a pass to Daniel Lopez for the two-point conversion, bringing the score to 16-0 at halftime.

"In the second half we completely dominated the game," Brownlee said. "We made little adjustments and our kids came out and played in the second half in which we scored 27 points in the third quarter."

The first score of the second half came off of a four yard run by Alvarado and a two point conversion run by Ernst for a 24-0 Viking lead.

The Vikings scored again when Ernst completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Leo Lopez and Christian Plascencia completed the extra point to bring the score to 31-0.

Later in the third quarter, Kristian Holmes made a 15-yard touchdown run. The score was 37-0 after a missed extra point.

Near the end of the quarter Ryan Smiley received a one-yard touchdown pass from Ernst. The lead was 43-0 after a missed extra point.

The Vikings scored one more time in the fourth quarter when Daniel Lopez made a six yard touchdown run and Plascencia kicked the extra point for a final score of 50-0.

"The kids played real well. They played hard," Brownlee said. "When you look at two teams who are both 0-2, one team is going to be on the losing side of it, and that is not where we or our kids wanted to be."

The Vikings ended the game with about eight sacks, two blocked punts and three interceptions by Daniel Lopez.

"The defense set the tone for much of the game due to the fact they were very aggressive and made some key plays," Brownlee said.

The Vikings face Camp Verde next in an away game on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.

"I'm very proud of our kids and we're coming back to have a good week of practice," Brownlee said. "Camp Verde is 1-2 but their record doesn't show their skill level and that they'll be a very good test for us."

This week the Williams team will work on stopping Camp Verde's offense.

"I think their offense can put up a lot of points," Brownlee said. "So we're going to have to work real hard in practice and understand their offensive schemes so we can shut it down."

One major factor in last week's game that will also be a factor in this week's practices is that the team has resolved its eligibility issues.

"So we're starting to work as a unit with a lot more flow on the offensive and defensive side of the ball," Brownlee said. "That helps in practice and in games when you can actually have a flow and things are going smooth, because everyone knows what everybody's doing and what their responsibilities are so that helps us as a team overall."


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