It took Omaha North less than 10 minutes to get its first minor gut check of the football season Friday night.
How did the Vikings respond? Just as the fourth-ranked team in the state should.
North buckled down to score the final four touchdowns and beat Omaha Central 27-7 in front of a near-capacity crowd at Seeman Stadium. For the second straight year, the Vikings won the teams' season opener.
“We were pretty wound up at the beginning,” said running back and defensive lineman Ron Coleman, who scored North's first three touchdowns. “We just needed to settle down. They caught us with that one big play, but we took over after that.”
That one big play, a 47-yard touchdown on a screen play from quarterback Jake Fuhs to running back Paulino Gomez, gave Central a lead just more than eight minutes in. But after that, it was pretty much all Vikings.
Coleman went in from 6 yards out three possessions later, two plays after wide receiver Anthony Gardner went 51 yards on a reverse play that seemed to loosen up the Central defense. A three-and-out by the Eagles gave North the ball back, and it took only one play for the Vikings to claim their first lead.
Coleman took a handoff off tackle through a huge hole in the left side and scored on a 47-yard sprint on North's next snap.
“I've been working on that,” he jokingly said of his speed.
North recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half at the Central 17, and two plays later the Vikings had their two-score lead. Coleman again went off the left side, bounced outside and went in from 10 yards.
“I thought our kids played with great emotion,” North coach Larry Martin said. “Central is a tough place to come in the opener. They defend their home turf. We just kept hanging tough and playing hard.”
Central coach Jay Ball said he was happy with his team's effort but saw plenty to clean up. The Eagles were flagged for 12 penalties and turned the ball over three times in the second half.
“We were driving the ball pretty well and then we kind of just self-destructed,” Ball said. “Offensively we kind of just did that the rest of the night. I told our kids that I really liked our effort. But we just made too many mistakes to beat a good football team.”
North back Kendall Anderson capped a seven-play drive that started at the Central 36 with a 4-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter to put the finishing touches on the victory. Coleman finished with 83 yards on nine carries. Four other North players had at least five carries as the Vikings churned out 274 yards on the ground.
Save for two big plays, the first-quarter touchdown and a 39-reception by Ted Lampkin in the fourth quarter, the Vikings defense was stingy. Central finished with just 64 yards rushing. Fuhs was 6 of 15 for 115 yards and a touchdown through the air but was picked off twice in the second half, including once in the end zone.
Om. North (1-0) 0 14 6 7—27
At Om. Central (0-1) 7 0 0 0— 7
OC: Paulino Gomez 47 pass from Jake Fuhs (Connor Holst kick)
ON: Ron Coleman 6 run (Marco Corona kick)
ON: Coleman 47 run (Corona kick)
ON: Coleman 10 run (kick blocked)
ON: Kendall Anderson 4 run (Corona kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: ON, Ron Coleman 9-83, Jordan Davis 8-46, Airreast Shelly 1-1, Kendall Anderson 5-15, Anthony Gardner 1-51, Chris Tyler 1-minus 9, Thomas Hodges 7-52, Radell Nared 1-7, J.J. Jones 5-28, Darryl Jackson 1-0 Total 39-274; OC, JeVaun Brown 7-31, Jake Fuhs 11-minus 24, Paulino Gomez 2-7, Keenan Williams 5-20, Randall Owens 5-25, Ted Lampkin 1-5 Totals 31-64. PASSING: ON, Davis 3-8-1 4; Fuhs 6-15-2 115. RECEIVING: ON, Mitch Johnson 1-1, Gardner 1-1, Nared 1-2; OC, Gomez 1-47, Brown 1-7, Jimmy Kuzelka 1-12, Lampkin 1-39, Josh Adams 1-12, Owens 1-minus 2.
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850-0781, nickrubek@hotmail.com
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