Niles football rebounds with 46-0 win over rival Lakeshore

Published 8:37 am Saturday, September 7, 2024

By Max Harden

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NILES — Niles head coach Scot Shaw said his team talked in great detail about needing to respond this week against Lakeshore after its disappointing loss to St. Joseph in the season opener. The Vikings responded to the tune of a 46-0 victory over the Lancers Friday night in their home opener.

The 46-point win over the Lancers is the largest margin of victory for either team in head-to-head history and was the Vikings’ first win over the Lancers since 2003.

“Across the board, our performances were much better this week than they were last week,” Shaw said.

The Lancers had no answers for the Vikings offense, which outgained the visitors 532-169 in total yards and 478-85 in rushing yards. Niles scored on runs of 30 (Elijah Norris), 45 (Peyton Gordon) and 75 (Sam Rucker) yards to lead 20-0 after one quarter. Sam Rucker (39 yards) and Paul Hess (13 yards) scored touchdowns in the second quarter to lift the Vikings to a 32-0 halftime lead.

Sam Rucker finished with nine carries for 161 yards and two touchdowns and Hess added 19 carries for 119 yards and one touchdown run, all of which came in the first half. Norris tallied nine carries for 96 yards and a touchdown and Peyton Gordon had two caarries for 47 yards and a score.

Shaw said the team missed Hess in last week’s game and that Rucker was not 100 percent.

“It’s nice to have Paulie back because he’s great at seeing the little seams and stuff that you got to be able to see and he’s just a good football player,” Shaw said. “Sam’s a good football player.”

In the third quarter, a 10-yard Norris touchdown run and a 32-yard touchdown pass play from Bennett to Gordon rounded out the scoring for the game. Lakeshore was threatening in the closing minutes of the game before the Vikings stopped the Lancers on fourth down.

“We talked at halftime about being able to finish and a little bit of maturity,” Shaw said. “Because we got some new guys, most of these guys saw this game last year in the second half so I don’t think that was a surprise. Our goal is just keep it rolling.”

Lakeshore quarterback Landon Hall completed 9 of 21 passes for 84 yards and two interceptions by Brenden Olsen.

“I thought defensively, we did an outstanding job on what in the past has been one of our weaknesses and that’s pass coverage,” Shaw said. “They didn’t even come close and I’m just as happy about that as I am scoring 46 points.”

Bennett led the team in tackles with six while completing 2 of 3 passes for 54 yards and one touchdown and one interception. According to Shaw, they did not call a pass play when he found Gordon on the touchdown pass.

“He’s a good athlete and he sees stuff,” Shaw said. “We didn’t run a lot of option tonight just because we were controlling the line of scrimmage. He threw the ball well.”

The Vikings aim to move to 2-1 next week when they face Three Rivers at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13.

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