Vikings slow Bison stampede; best performers of Week 3

WAVERLY, Neb. (KLKN) – The Waverly Vikings grabbed their first win of the season Friday night behind a dominant defensive performance, beating McCook 20-7 at home.

The game started off slow offensively for both sides, but the game broke open toward the end of the first half.

Quarterback Carter McMllan threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Mcmillan to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead at the break.

The Bison came out in the second half and finally got some movement on offense.

A controversial touchdown pass from Trenton Raile to Tristan Campbell was bobbled in the back of the end zone, but ruled a touchdown, tying the game at 7.

The Vikings’ defense stepped up toward the end of the third quarter.

After the offense got stopped on fourth down, the defense picked them up with a pick six to take a 14-7 lead.

The fourth quarter was dominated by the Vikings as Waverly got a much-needed notch in the win column.

McCook still only trailed 14-7 until quarterback Carter McMillain finally shook free for a 48-yard touchdown run.

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The Bison showed great resiliency while causing three first-half Viking turnovers.

Junior linebacker Gabe Roberts started the takeaway fun when he intercepted a deflected pass.

Remember, Roberts picked off an Aurora pass eight seconds into the previous Bison game and took it one yard for the opening TD of a 33-14 victory.

Junior Kallan McCorkle’s two fumble recoveries kept the Vikings close at 7-0 going into intermission.

Yet the real story was Waverly’s run defense which limited to 54 yards — 200 fewer than junior Tristan Campbell gained last week vs. Aurora.

Campbell totaled 254 yards and 192 in McCook’s opening 56-6 victory at Beatrice.

Coach Joe Vetrovsky provided these insights:

“Waverly has a pretty stout run defense and so we had some struggles getting the run game going.

However, in the 2nd half Trenton Raile’s arm (passing) really made a difference and got us rolling more on the offensive side of the ball. Unfortunately, Waverly made a few more plays and was able to pull it out.”

The Bison (2-1) were further tested since top returning receiver Miles Pollmann missed Friday’s contest at Waverly. He scored two touchdowns on catches at Beatrice two weeks earlier.

“Miles unfortunately suffered a hand injury last week during practice,” Vetro explained. “We are optimistic that he will be able to return soon in some capacity as it continues to heal.”

Pollmann began as McCook’s punter which was not needed much during the first two victories.

However, senior Davien Hanson stepped in to handle seven punts at Waverly where he averaged 36 yards.

Hanson kicked a variety from soaring fair-catch kids to turf skimmers bouncing 20 to 30 yards downfield off this Viking field turf.

Despite these added duties, Hanson also made a team and season-best nine tackles Friday with assists on six other stops.

Now all the seniors lead McCook into Friday’s Homecoming 7 p.m. contest vs. Crete.

WAVERLY, Neb. — The McCook Bison best performers from Friday’s 20-7 loss at Waverly.

TEAM STATS

Total yards: Waverly 371, McCook 174

Rushing: Waverly 170, McCook 54

Passing: Waverly 201, McCook 120

First downs: Waverly 17, McCook 9

Total plays: Waverly 78, McCook 67

Takeways: Waverly 4, McCook 3

Penalties; McCook 7 for 65 yards; Waverly 7 for 42

BISON OFFENSE

Rushing: Trenton Raile 6 carries-32 yards; Tristan Campbell 17-22.

Passing: Trenton Raile 8 completions-29 attempts-120 yards-1 TD-3 Ints.

Receiving: Ethan Schmidt 2 receptions-54 yards; Campbell 2-42-1 TD; Tripp Raile 3-21, Gabe Roberts 1-3.

BISON DEFENSE

Total tackles: Davien Hanson 9-6 assists, Gabe Roberts 5 tackles-4 assists, Kallan McCorkle 4 tackles-5 assists, Tristan Campbell 4 tackles-3 assists, Trenton Raile 3 tackles-1 assist; Quentin Terry 2 tackles-6 assists, Ethan Schmidt 2 tackles-4 assists, Alex Landry 2 tackles-2 assists, Lee Davidson 2 tackles, Tate Schafer 1 tackle, Trey Tiller 5 assists, Andrew Pochop 4 assists, Oliver Corbett 3 assists, Eidos Klein 2 assists, Grady Miller 1 assist.

Tackles for loss: Gabe Roberts 2, Hanson 1, Terry 1.

Takeaways: Kallan McCorkle 2 (fumble recoveries); Roberts (1 interception).

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kick returning: Tristan Campbell 6 for 72 yards with long of 34.

Punting: Davien Hanson 7 for 36-yard average with long of 40.

Kickoffs: Gunner Kaps 2 for 81 yards.

PAT kicks: Gunner Kaps 1 for 1. Watch for more this week.