Viking ship sunk by Indee in fourth quarter 21-7

Decorah’s Brady Bohner (58), Brady Benzing (2) and Noah Milburn (87) team up to drag down the Independence ball carrier Friday in non-district action. (Photo courtesy of Amy Averhoff)

Two fumbles and an interception turned out to be the undoing of the Decorah football team (3-1) Friday night as the Vikes fell 21-7 at Independence (3-1).

What happened
The Vikes took the opening drive of the game 86 yards on 15 plays to score the first touchdown of the game. It was Dakota Johnson who punched the ball into the end zone from the 2-yard line and Brayden Wemark’s PAT that pushed Decorah out front 7-0. Not to be outdone, the Mustangs countered with a 10-play 65-yard drive of their own to tie it up.
Then the defensive battle began with the two teams trading fumbles and punts through the middle two periods. Independence took the lead two plays into the fourth quarter 14-7. The Vikings were looking to swing the momentum in their favor when Tommy Sexton fumbled the ball at Decorah’s own seven-yard line and a Mustang defender picked it up for the scoop and score, leaving Independence with a 21-7 advantage. That would be all the scoring in the contest the Mustangs needed to secure the non-district win.

The nitty gritty
Offensively, Louis Bucksa completed 11 passes for 114 yards with three Vikes combining for another 117 yards of rushing. On the ground, Dakota Johnson picked up 130 yards on 27 carries to lead Decorah. Gavin Groux hauled in seven receptions for 74 yards.
On defense, Brady Benzing had five solo and five assisted tackles to lead the way. Groux also had five solo stops, while Brady Bohner was there for four solo and one assisted tackles.

Homecoming
Decorah will celebrate homecoming with a district opener against Mason City (1-3) Friday, Sept. 22, at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring sequence
1st Quarter
Decorah – Dakota Johnson 2-yd. run (Brayden Wemark PAT)
Indee – 2-yd. run (PAT)
2nd Quarter
None
3rd Quarter
None
4th Quarter
Indee – 16-yd. run (PAT)
Indee – 4-yd. fumble recovery return (PAT)
Game stats
Total yards: Decorah 231; Independence 260
Passing (comp/att/yds): Louis Bucksa (11-22, 114 yds., 1 INT)
Rushing (att/yds): Dakota Johnson (27-130, 1 TD); Tommy Sexton (9-11); Bucksa (8-(-24)
Receiving (att/yds/TD): Gavin Groux (7-74); Kelley Gates (1-20); Brady Benzing (2-11); Jackson Pipho (1-9)
Tackles (total): Benzing 10; Groux 5; Gatlin Dahlberg 5; Trevor Kuennen 5; Brady Bohner 5; Cash Riehle 4; Andrew Rhodes 3; Pipho 3; Keaton Orris 2; Johnson 1; Carter Dlhy 1; William Hahn 1; Gates 1; Noah Milburn 1
Fumble recoveries: Johnson 1
Punts (att/yds): Milburn (2-74)
Kick-offs (att/yds): Brayden Wemark (1-54)
Kick-off returns (att/yds): Groux (3-59)

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