Young Grafton picks up experience in football road loss

A couple of missed opportunities was the difference in a marquee match-up between the Grafton and Mount Horeb/Barneveld high school football teams last Friday.

The Vikings recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock to hang on at home, 14-10, over the defending Division 3 state champion Black Hawks.

“Some of our youth, our lack of varsity experience, really kind of boiled to the top Friday night,” coach Jim Norris said.

“I’m not one to ever take moral victories ... I was proud of how they battled.”

Grafton fumbled near midfield on its first possession, and the Vikings marched 48 yards in six plays for a touchdown.

On the next drive, wide receiver Parker Shaw couldn’t pull in a deep pass on a post pattern that would have gone for a touchdown.

On the Hawks’ third possession, quarterback Hunter Klippel scrambled up the middle and got stripped from behind inside the 15-yard line. The Vikings recovered, dodging another score.

Ronan Byrnes missed a 32-yard field goal on their next possession. The Vikings missed a field goal on the ensuing possession and held a 7-0 halftime lead.

The Hawks forced a Vikings’ punt on the first possession of the second half but got called for illegal participation. The Vikings used the opportunity to score on a 22-yard pass from Harvey Hellen to Henry DeRosier.

Grafton then got on the board with a 37-yard Byrnes’ field goal, after which the Vikings missed a second field goal.

Grafton drove 80 yards on 13 plays with Jack Nelson capping the drive with a 1-yard run with just less than four minutes to play.

The Hawks tried an onside kick and nearly corralled the free ball, but a Viking pulled it in, and they didn’t let the Hawks get the ball back.

“It came down to a handful of mistakes, a couple of penalties in critical situations,” Norris said. “The great thing is every single thing that we saw is correctable and a lot of it is controllable.”

Nelson ran 30 times for 130 yards and a score. Klippel ran seven times for 49 yards and went 17-for-25 passing for 135 yards.

Viking Eli Maier ran for 151 yards on 22 carries. Hellen went 13-for-19 for 126 yards and a touchdown.

Norris was happy to play a high-ranked team like Mount Horeb/Barneveld to give his squad a good test.

“I think that’s a huge thing and often overlooked. A lot of times wins overshadow deficiencies. Friday night it showed. I’d much rather be in that position and have that insight in August,” Norris said.

The nice thing about the inexperience, he said, is those players now have a game under their belt.

“We have to look in the mirror and have the guts to go make the corrections now,” Norris said.

Grafton hosts Slinger, a 29-15 winner over DeForest, on Friday, Aug. 28. It’s Military and First Responders Appreciation Night.

“There are a lot of parallels between a good football program and the men and women who serve and protect our country,” Norris said.

“We’re honored to play a football game in their honor.”