by Tim Kolehmainen
The BREAKDOWN
(posted 10/01/2008)
Photos of the game are available at http://photo21.dotphoto.com
PELICAN RAPIDS – Upon wandering into Pelican Rapids, one things is pretty clear: this is a town with plenty of community pride.
Three-foot tall fiberglass pelicans welcome visitors from every street corner, decorated with the tools of trade of the merchants sponsoring each. For a town of just 2,374 souls, the streets were buzzing with action last Friday night.
Of course, it was homecoming and the unbeaten Pelican Rapids Vikings were hosting Warroad in a showdown for the Heart O’Lakes Classic lead. Nearing the stadium, cars lined the streets, bursting out of the parking lot. Hugging the field was a full-scale fair, with a car/sledgehammer demolition, games, food and lots of lots of fans in orange and black.
Pelican Rapids is also a town that loves its football.
 It’s tough to blame them. Every year, Pelican Rapids has put out a quality product. In each of the past three seasons, the Vikings have advanced to the section finals, only to be denied a state trip each time. This year’s Vikings are senior-dominated, with 10 of 11 offensive starters and much of the defense in their final year of high school.
They’re looking to bring the town a long-awaited state title this fall.
“It’s always a goal to get past that one game that we’ve been stuck on for years,” said senior running back Andrew Sorum.
Most observers knew Pelican Rapids would have an impressive offense led by senior quarterback Tydan Storrusten. But it’s the defense that has the Vikings on the fast track this fall. With a 54-0 shutout of previously unbeaten Warroad last Friday night, Pelican Rapids is a perfect 5-0 and hasn’t given up a point since a 39-15 victory over Pequot Lakes way back on Sept. 5 – more than 12 quarters and 144 minutes of football.
“We definitely wanted to come out and make a statement that we are for real,” said Storrusten.
“I knew we’d be an improved defensive unit, but to be able to shut out people the way we have the last few weeks, I don’t think you expect that,” said coach David Haugen after his team took control of the Heart O’Lakes Classic with the victory.
 Both Warroad and Pelican Rapids came into the game unbeaten and tied atop the standings. The Warriors were ranked in the top-10 in the state in Class AAA, while the Vikings were receiving votes in the Class AA poll. But Warroad got nothing going against the stout Pelican Rapids defense.
“They’d won some nice games against good competition,” said Haugen. “But we were able to get some good things going early on and it maybe took some of the fight out of them.”
Ah, but don’t forget about that offense.
Storrusten rumbled in from 1-yard out on a quarterback sneak to open the scoring and the rout was on. He later completed three touchdown passes to receiver Matthew Skow-Anderson. Sorum also scored on a 48-yard interception return and a 75-yard misdirection punt return.
“(I saw) a whole lot of open field,” smiled Sorum, describing how both plays broke in his favor.
Storrusten leads the spread attack, which has taken aspects of the Missouri and Florida college spreads that have been so effective for both teams. He’s thrown for 14 touchdowns and has yet to throw an interception through five games. He’s also rushed for five scores.
The offensive line of seniors Jan-Erik Lindberg (6-0, 205), Mitchell Field (6-3, 195), Tyler Larson (6-5, 200), Cole Forsgren (6-0, 200) and the lone junior, guard Lance Erickson (6-1, 240) have given Storrusten plenty of time to survey the field and do his weekly damage.
 “Our line has been doing a great job getting a good push,” said Storrusten.
But the Vikings are also a well-balanced offense, loaded with productive players at running back and wide receiver. It’s a necessity when one throws as many unusual formations at a defense as does Pelican Rapids and Haugen. The Vikings often split out five wides, putting Storrusten in the shotgun to pick apart the defense.
“It’s some stuff you don’t see a lot of times at the high school level,” said Haugen. “It’s tough to get ready for it on a one week basis. We feel like we can attack from a lot of different areas. So if they do take one thing away, we have a lot of options we can go to.”
Matthew Haugen, Seth Lage, Sorum and McKale Evenson share time in the backfield, giving the Vikings a good balance of speed and power. They’ll even line up at receiver along with Skow-Anderson, Eric Shulstad and Sam Krueger.
“We have great packages and a lot of guys who can make plays,” said Sorum. |
