BIGFORK — The Bigfork Vikings football team went 9-2 in the regular season and it was the Eureka Lions that gave them their first loss of the season. Now the Vikings and the Lions are meeting again for the Class B semifinals and this time, Bigfork is looking for revenge.
"I personally feel ready, just want to play a good game, they are a good team they are a hard-nosed western Montana kids but I feel like we are older and have experience," senior running back Levi Taylor said.
If you ask these players what is one word that describes the makeup of this years Bigfork team, the answer is heart.
“We are not necessarily the biggest on the stat sheet but I think we just play together with a heart that is unmatched,“ senior lineman Braeden Guse said.
Bigfork's defense has also been unmatched, whether Guse is controlling the gap or making a tackle it will be important for him and the rest of the defensive line to step up with Eureka's heavy run game. The last time these two teams met, Eureka ran the ball 51 times while only attempting to throw it six times.
"We got a cast of kids we can go to the little guys or the big, big guys are defensive backs really stepped up," head coach Jim Benn said.
"I'm really proud of the way our defense played as a team, the amount of times Townsend went into the red zone and got away with no points was nothing short of spectacular by this defense," said Guse.
What’s also spectacular is how this team has came together in the midst of tragedy. With the sudden loss of a teammate this season, it hasn’t been easy by any means, but it's been a season of reflection and appreciation of the guys around them.
"What we overcame, you know, it's hard, hard to ever move past what happened. Just how we've, we find ways to win," said Guse.
"It's about time, we've been waiting for it. And like I said, we're all really lucky. I really appreciate every single one of the guys that I get to be with every day." I think everything we've gone through has only made us stronger this year," said Taylor.
