Vikes improve to 3-0 with 14-6 win over Mora

The Vikings have already proved themselves a force in the Rum River Conference three weeks into the season, picking up a second conference win Sept. 12.
The 14-6 victory came against Mora, giving North Branch a 3-0 record to start the season.
The Vikes racked up 283 yards in total offense for the game, with a solid defense holding Mora to 187 yards.
The Mustangs opened the game by moving the ball upfield to their own 8-yard line, but were forced to try for a field goal on fourth and 8. The kick came up short, turning the ball over to North Branch.
The Vikings were stopped in 4 and out, advancing only 5 yards in the series.
Possession changed hands three more times in the quarter, ending the first with no score.
North Branch scored twice in the second quarter. A 76-yard drive culminated in a 2-yard touchdown run by Phil Olson at 6:34 remaining. Britt Baumann kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Vikes lead.
The Mustangs fumbled on the subsequent possession, and Jake Smith recovered for North Branch.
Following a short drive, the Vikes attempted a 41-yard field goal, but Baumannís kick was wide left.
North Branch later scored with 7 seconds remaining in the half, off a 2-yard pass from Matt Fletcher to Eddie Meier, ending the half with a 14-0 Vikings lead.
Mora put together a 35-yard drive in its opening possession of the second half and drove in for a touchdown. The extra point was no good. Neither team would score again, for a 14-6 North Branch victory.
The Vikings were assessed with 6 penalties for 32 yards in the game. Mora had 2 penalties for 15 yards.
Head Coach Joel Swanson said the defense made important stops against a hard-hitting Mora team.
ìWe prevented Mora from breaking loose on long scoring runs which they had been successful at in their past two games,î he said.
The offense started slowly, however. ìThe offense couldnít really get going until the second quarter,î Swanson said. ìWe were making a lot of mental mistakes and stopped ourselves or put ourselves into bad situations. We need to eliminate our mental mistakes to improve.î
Marc Vanden Heuvel led the offense with 200 yards rushing. He leads the team this season in total rushing yards with 649.
Ben Stenberg racked up 10 tackles and 1 sack to lead the defense.
Swanson said it was a nice victory against a solid team. ìWe do have a lot of room for improvement in all phases of the game,î he said. ìWe need to come out ready to play every week in the Rum River Conference.î
North Branch shares the RRC lead with Princeton, both at 2-0 in the conference and 3-0 overall.
This week, the Vikings travel to Pine City in a 7:00 p.m. game.

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