Filed from the sideline – thoughts from Friday night’s Viking football

Over 500 yards of total offense - despite the fact that penalties nullified an 85 and 39 yard touchdowns. Twenty-five first downs. Thirty-five points...and several new records.

Senior QB Nick Baker etched his name in Viking history Friday with an impressive performance, finishing 31 of 42 passing for 350 yards and four touchdowns - with no interceptions. Baker also carried the ball 12 times for 110 gross yards, although the stats will only show 66 yards, as sacks count against his rushing total.

Baker set the all time single game attempts, completions and yardages records, and tied the single game passing touchdown record. Here’s a look at how the new records shape up, with the previous record holder in parenthesis:

Attempts/single game - Nick Baker, 42 (Dave Powrozik, 27 vs Marysville, 1982);
Completions/game - Nick Baker, 31 (Dave Powrozik vs Marysville, 1982);
Yardage/single game - Nick Baker, 350 yards (Dave Powrozik, 329 vs Marysville, 1982);
Passing touchdowns/single game - Nick Baker, 4 and Mitch Canham, 4 (2001 vs Monroe).

Personally, I am not at all surprised to see these records fall, considering Baker’s ability and the installation of the new spread offense.

A couple notes on Baker’s play tonight - first, he didn’t throw the ball nearly as well as he is capable of, which is really a scary thing for the rest of Wesco. He overthrew several open receivers, notably Trevor Reicks down the seam twice and Eric Huswick once. He also missed on two consecutive deep throws to Colton Tupen, although one may have been a bad route. This is just to say that I would expect even better performances in the future out of QB1.

Who said there’s no Huddle?
One roster says he’s number 43. He wears number 87 in practice. He wears number 51 during games. He’s listed at 6’, 180 lbs but I’m not buying it. He came up to me in practice to tell me that he led the team week one with 18 tackles, which, despite the fact that I had watched the whole game from the sidelines, I was ashamed to say that I didn’t know who he was.

Suffice it to say that after Friday’s three sack performance at Glacier Peak, I’m not the only one who will be talking about Lake Stevens’ hyperactive if undersized middle linebacker Jacob Huddle. Huddle was constantly in the Grizzly backfield Friday, and when he’s not disrupting the opposing team’s offense, he’s a vocal (and confident) cheerleader for the offense from the sidelines.

I talked to Defensive Coordinator Joe Cronin about Huddle earlier in the week, and his eyes lit up as he described the heart and energy typified by Huddle’s play.

“He leaves it all on the field. He’s a little guy, but he hits hard,” Cronin said, adding that the fact that Huddle’s body gaining 15 or 20 pounds over the offseason finally allowed him to become the football player that his mind had always wanted to be.

Youngblood provides foundation for D.
Aside from Huddle, I watched the defensive line closely Friday. Cronin had told that the whole defensive scheme he runs is based off DT Dylan Youngblood. Youngblood lines up in the center of a three man line, and it his responsibility to occupy two offensive linemen at once, freeing up the ends for Eric Huswick (who already has four sacks this year) and Zach Teuber.

On the first play of the game, Youngblood rared up from his down stance into a vicious bull rush, damn near pushing two Grizzly linemen into the opposing quarterback. This continued for pretty much the whole night.

It’s also worth noting that Youngblood is one of a handful of Viking players who are capable of playing at the next level, according to coaches. One player told me that Youngblood has received recruiting interest from Oregon State, known for their defensive ferocity.

Notebook:
- Through two games, Baker has thrown for seven touchdown passes. The season record is sixteen in a nine game season.

- Senior WR Tyler Bryant would’ve had an 85 yard TD catch-and-run, if the refs hadn’t called it back.

- Junior S Chameron Lackey played one down at QB, handing off to Dickinson after the refs made Baker retreat to the sideline. Baker had blood on his jersey.

- Coach Tri told reporters that he schemed more screen passes in the second half to counter a Glacier Peak pass rush that totaled four first-half sacks. His play-calling paid off as Baker hit Tupen for a 60 yard TD on a wide receiver screen in the third quarter.

- Sophomores Duke Dolphin and Brandon Preslar played extensively in the Viking secondary tonight. Preslar was also back deep on one punt return. Teammates call Preslar “Sunshine” after the fair-haired character from “Remember the Titans”.

- Linebacker Trevor Riecks intercepted a Glacier Peak pass at the end of the first half—it was the game’s only turnover.