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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-11-13, Page 23t" 'I. • . „.„.„ • • • . .„, • ikl % <1 • ft4 - 1 gwesaird.w.bia, The GDCI Vikings successfully defended their Huron -Perth title on Saturday afternoon at seal a Viking victory. Here the Exeter rtuilting back tries to pick his way through the Viking the GDCI field. The Exeter Panthers played well, but the Viking spirit prevailed. Goderich defense. But the Vikings declawed the Panthers by playing hard nosed football. won the game 7-6. In the fourth quarter Grant Garrow intercepted an errant Panther pass to VIKINGS I Garrow intercepts an errant pass to give Goderich their second championship in as many years by TD The GDCI Senior Vikings won their fifth consecutive Huron -Perth Conference Foot- ball Championship here Saturday by defeating the Exeter South Huron Pan- thers, 7-6. The championship was the ninth in the last ten years for Viking coach Ray Donnelly. The taste of victory had to be sweet for Donnelly, his assistant Chris Connor and the 19 Vikings dressed for the final. The Panthers had the size, the talent and the depth to win, but didn't. The difference was one of those "intangibles" in the per- formance chart, "the will to win". It's a quality. which coach Donnelly has been able to instill in his teams over the years, as the record indicates. This year's team can be especially proud of their achievement. With such a small roster, most of the Vikings had to go both ays, playing offence and defence. They went into Saturday's game with a sizeable injury list and suffered several more in- juries as the game progressed but the Vik- ings refused to be beaten. The Panthers went into the game with 36 players dressed and part of their strategy was to hit hard, hoping to wear down the Vikings "dirty dozen", but the strategy failed The Vikings lost key performers Darryl Black, who sustained a shoulder separa- tion in the second quarter, and Kevin Eeagan, who played despite an ankle in- jurk . but then went down with an injured knee. Despite these and other assorted hurts. the 'Vikings put on a fourth quarter drive which allowed them to score the win- ning point with one minute and 20 seconds remaining in the game. The point carne on a 30 yard single kick- ed by Ken Van Osch. Darryl Black made the key hit. a devastating tackle which nailed the Exeter receiver just inside the Panthers' goal line. t!. The mud bowl What a game! As I lifted my head from my pillow and quickly jumped to my feet, I lifted the shade to look out outside. It was game day and it was pouring ram. Remembering back to a conversation I had last week with one of the Huron -Perth coaches, I knew that the rainy weather could play a big part in the game. Stire enough, when Exeter kicked -off to start the game, the ball squirted loose and the Panthers recovered the ball deep in- side Goderich territory. I thought that it was going to be the beginning of a long day for the Vikings. But the Viking defense rose to the occa- sion and fended off the Panthers attack and forced them to fumble the ball. The game was very well played and it was exciting. to watch. At times it was so exciting that I forgot to take pictures. I was quickly brought out of my trance as players began heading towards me in pur- suit of the ball carrier. At one point I was kneeling down on the wet grass trying to get a good angle of the play when the Ex- eter quarterback threw a quick out to the sidelines. The Goderich defender tackled the receiver and his momentum took him out-of-bounds right towards me. With a six foot 200 pounds plus football player heading for me it didn't take me long to get out of the way. Another less than exciting part of the game was when I was over by the Exeter cheering section taking pictures when one of the spectators said,"If that is a Viking photographer, let's get him." I quickly surveyed the area only to find that I was the only photographer m the area. I firmly stood my ground until I turned around and saw that the crowd was slowly edging towards me. Not only that, but one of the Exeter faithful drove an orange at my head. I quickly vacated the area not for myself, but for the safety of my camera. The Exeter faithful were quite a boisterous bunch. But they were unique in a way, yelling verbal slurs at the Viking Cheerleaders and at key players on the Goderich team. It is safe to say that on this day the Ex- eter fans showed their true colors. Despite throwing the insults, they were your typical opposing fans. Yelling at the referees everytime they made a call against the Panthers and they were jubilant with every reception and call that went for their team. It is safe to say that on this day it was the Viking fans that did most of the cheering. Exeter received the majority of the key penalties including a pass interfernce call that lead to Goderich's first touchdown. The only bright spot for the Panthers came in the fourth quarter, when Exeter marched down the field and scored a touchdown. It looked as though the Panthers were going to go in for the kill with the extra point and their fans knew it. When Goderich blocked the kick they were revitalized and the Exeter sup- porters were silenced. Football is a game of momentum and by late in the fourth quarter it was definitely on the Vikings side. Turn to page 2 111•1111•1111111w The Vikings were extremely happy after they tackled a Exeter punt returner in the end zone to go ahead 7-6. The play was made possible by the quick footed Darryl Black. The ball was only caught t wo yards deep in the end zone and should have easily been taken The game began with a break for the A pass from Grant Garrow to Scott Panthers when they recovered a Viking Stokes put the ball on the eight y ard line Iambic on the opening kickoff. but they and Shawn Rahhek carried it to the two, were unable to capitalize on their oppor- setting up Kevin Beatties' touchdown run. tunity Frotn there the game turned into a Shawn Larder's convert attempt was defensive battle. with neither team able to blocked and the score remained 6-0 at sustain an offensive drive. The Vikings halftime gradually improved their field position on With Almasi gone from the Viking the punt exchanges and finally scored in defence. the Panthers Rill Fisher began the second quarter. gaining ground up the middle in the third quarter and the Panthers had a serious threat going until Miller fumbled a snap and the Vikings recovered on their own 23 yard line. Exeter finally scored in the fourth quarter A pass by Scott Bogart, on a reverse play. completed to Scott Miller set up the Panther touchdown by Sean Whiteford v, -ho punched it in from the two yard line. Aided by a pass interference call. the Vikings had a first down on the Exeter 45 ard line Although they were unable to inaii,tain the drive beyond two series of downs, Ken Van Osch's third down punt put the ball on the Exeter six yard line. The Panthers were unable to move the hall and their punter, Scott Miller, shank - ed the ball allowing Goderich to take over on the Exeter 15 yard line. out. But Black barged through the Exeter line to make an excellent tackle. Here the team celebrates its success. Even the referee agrees that the Vikings are number one. photo by Todd Mowatt A bad snap messed up the Panthers' con- vert attempt and he score remained 6-6 until the single point with 1-20 left won it for the Vikings. The Panthers tried to mount a last- minute offensive drive, but (;rant Garrow intercepted a pass. snuffing out the Pan- thers' last gasp. Offensively, the Vikings got big games from running backs Shawn Rahbek and Kevin Beattie. Defensively, Doug Lounsbury played a key role on the -special teams". Darryl Black became a talker of strength after Almasi' injury and Kevin Talbot defended well against the pass. However, it was realiy. a team effort both ways and all the members of the 1985 Vikings advance to three game The (. I) I, Senior Vikings avenged an a 15 - 2 first quarter lead. The Vikes con- and Chris Stapleton added 12 points each earlier one point loss by downing Mitchell 61 tinued to pia ‘ well controlling all aspects of while Cathy Gallow had 10 points. Mary 26 in the Huron -Perth Girls Basketball the game Goderich again showed its Katherine Stapleton scored nine and Jenn ,tio final I:a-t Thursday balance in scoring as four Vikings were in Peters had four. double figures Katharine Murphy led the The team displayed good control under team with fourteen points. „Joanne Campbell the pressure of sudden death play-off action. The Vikings advance to defend their Huron - Vikings deserve recognition. They were: Grant Garrow, Darren Connelly, Doug Lounsbury, Kevin Beattie, Ken Van Osch, Kevin Feagan, Ian MacKinnon, Shawn Larder. Shawn Rahbek, Kevin Telford, Darryl Black, Matt Buchanan, Todd Jef- frey, Ray Bedard, Murray Lane, Dave Almasi, Darren Doak, Scott Stokes, Kevin Talbot and Grant Lounsbury. Coach Ray Donnelly paid tribute to the character of these young men and their ability to dig down deep to maintain the spirit of "Viking pride". It was probably the only difference between the two teams. In the three games they faced each other this season, the Vik- ings won twice and Exeter once. The Vik- ings scored 22 points. the Panthers scored 21, but the Vikings are the champions. Huron -Perth final Lurk were determined to who h 4-. I he better team as they took Perth Championship this week against Stratford Northwestern. The first game was Tuesday at the G D.C.I, gym and the second of the best of three finals will be at Stratford on Thursday. If a third game is necessary it will also be at Notthwestern on Friday. Chess club competition is fierce r . by Barry Page The number of players amounted to a 'baker's dozen' at last week's chess club meeting, and, as usual, competition was very keen. Dennis Luiting and John Crawford playe their two official games in Level 2 with John being victorious in both. However, Dennis didn't go home empty- handed, as he won his game with Mike Cox. Don Wilson also played three games, including his big win over Barry Page after a marathon session. There was some activity in Level 1 and the game between Eric Hallam and Walter Gottschalk involved a lot of deep thinking. Eric was able to capitalize with his major pieces to take the game. Doug Brindley and Owen Moriarty fought a prolonged battle, Doug came out on top. The game which at- tracted a great deal of attention was between Mark Maurer and Louis Stadelmann, and although the game was ad- journed, we expect to see an exciting ending next week. Following Bob Dick and Richard Bennett's game there was a lively analysis of Bob's victorious moves over Richard's defensive strategy. Such is the versatility of chess; so if you would like to participate, call Doug Brindley at 524-8674.