The Vikings Start off the Season 0-3

It was a very cold and cloudy day in Hastings, Neb., Saturday, and it seemed to be that way for the Dana Vikings football team as well. Dana was in a must-win situation coming into the game with a 0-2 record. Unfortunately, the Vikings returned home 0-3 after a 37-9 loss to the Broncos.

Defense took the field first and seemed to be on track stopping the Hastings powerful running attack. However, on the fifth play of the drive Hastings junior college transfer quarterback Dayton Edwards hit Jordan Folkers on a 54 yard touchdown pass to give the Broncos a 7-0 lead.

The Vikings responded quickly. On the ensuing kickoff, Andrew Hawley (Lincoln, Neb.) took it back 83 yards for a touchdown to give the Vikings their first touchdown of the season. Dana missed the extra point try and trailed 7-6.

The defense stayed strong on the next series, holding the Broncos to a field goal attempt that would give Hastings a 9-6 lead. The Vikings’ offense just didn’t seem to be in sync. The Broncos defense is known for putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks and that’s just what they did, holding the Vikings to under 200 yards of total offense. They also held quarterback Marcus Sladek (Omaha, Neb.) to 17 of 40 passing for 122 yards and three interceptions, with one of them coming in the red zone.

The defense tried to keep the game close, but couldn’t slow down the passing game that Hastings isn’t normally known for. The Broncos’ quarterback threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 completions.

Dana Head Coach Danenhauer said, “We’ve seen how young our team was today and how inexperienced we are on both sides of the ball. All we can do now is practice hard and work to get better each week.”

Saturday Dana will take on Great Plains Athletic Conference foe Briar Cliff (0-3) who is coming off a tough loss to Bethany. The Parents’ Day contest will kick off at Viking Field at 1 p.m.