FREDERICKSBURG, Iowa – In his pregame interview, Northwood-Kensett football coach Dave Capitani talked about the athletic ability of the Fredericksburg defensive linemen.

Tuesday, November 06, 2001

FREDERICKSBURG, Iowa – In his pregame interview, Northwood-Kensett football coach Dave Capitani talked about the athletic ability of the Fredericksburg defensive linemen.

He was still talking about it after the game.

The Falcons’ defensive stunts caused problems for the Vikings and Fredericksburg hit some big plays on offense and got some breaks as Northwood-Kensett lost 28-7 in an Iowa Class A state quarterfinal football game Monday night.

&uot;Their kids up front are just so quick, they get to the ball so fast,&uot; said Capitani. &uot;I don’t think I’ve seen a team that athletic on defense. They’re not that big, but boy do they go to the ball.&uot;

The Vikings’ defense was tough in the first half, shutting the Falcons down until Neil Suckow broke a 51-yard touchdown run at 5:06 of the second quarter.

Falcons quarterback Tyler Staker was impressive throwing the ball as the Falcons drove for touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters. They put it away with a 47-yard run on fourth-and-11 late in the game.

The Vikings had 217 yards to Fredericksburg’s 309. Quarterback Trevor Madsen led the Vikings with 62 yards rushing on nine carries. Nathan Loberg had 53 yards on 13 attempts. Madsen completed two of three passes for 35 yards, with one interception.

The defensive leaders were James Erickson and Jared Avelar with 14 tackles apiece. J.T. Hogen, Josh Reindl, Brian Klitzke and Matt Johnson had eight tackles each.

The Vikings, ranked No. 4 in the final Associated Press poll, finished the season 10-1 while the third-rated Falcons improved to 11-0.

Capitani said it was a tough loss and the Vikings, he included, were disappointed, but the season will be remembered as one of success.

&uot;We had a lot of good times this season,&uot; said Capitani. &uot;Obviously, for most teams, it will come to an end.

&uot;Everyone’s dejected right now, but they’ll look back at it and have a lot of good memories.&uot;

NK 0 7 0 0 – 7

FR 0 7 7 14 – 28

First Quarter

No scoring.

Second Quarter

NK-Loberg 2 run (Reindl kick)

FR-Suckow 51 run (Karnik kick)

Third Quarter

FR-Steege 1 run (Karnik kick)

Fourth Quarter

FR-Steege 6 run (Karnik kick)

FR-Steege 47 run (Karnik kick)

NK FR

First downs 7 12

Rushes-yards 48-182 40-227

Passing 2-3-1 6-13-0

Passing yards 35 82

Total yards 217 309

Turnovers 2 0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-NK, Loberg 9-62, Loberg 15-53, Carmody 11-36, Fierova 11-31.

PASSING-NK, Madsen 2-3-1, 35.

RECEIVING-NK, Reindl 1-23, Carmody 1-12.