The football team (0–1) fell to the Blake Bengals (1–0) 28–14 in their season opener.

With the stands packed on a cool Friday night, it marked the perfect opportunity for revenge against the team that ended Whitman’s season last year. 

Junior Brennen Heuer praised the atmosphere that the Vikes garnered for the first game of the year. 

“The atmosphere at the first game of the season was electric. Everyone was into it and excited for the season.” 

To open up the game, Blake drove right down the field but stalled out and ended the drive with a missed field goal, energizing the student section even more. Midway through the first quarter, the Vikes recovered a fumble from the Bengals, setting them up with great field position. 

Junior Dylan Byrd capped off a 40-yard touchdown drive with a 5-yard rushing score to put the Vikes up 7–0. The Bengals responded immediately with a touchdown drive of their own, making the score 7–7.

After a competitive first quarter, the Vikes opened the second quarter with a strong drive, dominating the run game. Senior quarterback Connor Werkman eventually scored on a quarterback sneak to cap off a drive that took up more than half of the second quarter. The Bengals fought back with an impressive drive down the field but again were stopped by the Vikes at the two-yard line on the first half’s final play. 

Following a productive first half for the Vikes, they looked to lengthen their lead as they got the ball first. But Werkman threw an interception on third down, setting up Blake with great field position to eventually tie the game at 14. On the Bengal’s next drive, they scored again on a 35-yard touchdown pass on 3rd down to take their first lead of the game. The Vikings failed to find any offense in the second half, consistently giving the Bengals good field position. At the start of the 4th quarter, the Bengals extended their lead with a 4-yard rushing touchdown to put away the game. 

Whitman will look to bounce back from their second-half performance when they face the Northwood Gladiators at home on Friday at 7 p.m.