It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. The Vikings hosted the last game of the regular season, playing against AIK. The game felt close throughout, but the Vikings came out on top, ending the regular season with three wins, four losses, and securing their first ever playoff spot in Superserien. Not bad for the Vikings’ first year in the league.
The Vikings offense has had better games than what they produced on Saturday, scoring just two touchdowns. Those two touchdowns proved to be crucial however, and the Vikings held on to the lead all the way to the final whistle. For the astute observers at home, two touchdowns don’t equate to 23 points. Just for the hell of it, playmaker #1 Will Sewell showed off his incredible blend of size, strength and speed, returning a kick off 88 yards to the house. On the return Sewell was reminiscent of former (Minnesota) Viking Adrian Peterson, running through tackles before speeding away. All in all, the Vikings showed an ability to score points and grind out longer drives to kill the clock, all against a pretty solid AIK defense.
The Vikings defense couldn’t match their performance from the game against the Griffins, but they did hold off a late comeback attempt by AIK. Tackles were divided fairly evenly among the defensive players, bearing witness of a defense that swarmed to the ball to suffocate the opponent. Crucial to this close game were the two forced turnovers. #20 Vetle Skagmo and #47 Ryan Hatch shared the fun, recording one interception and one pass breakup each. On the defense, the trend has been a steady improvement. Let’s hope the improvement continues into the playoffs.
Standout performances
As previously mentioned #47 Ryan Hatch snagged an interception against AIK. He was also the leading tackler, recording 3 solo tackles and three assists. Hatch has been solid every time he has seen the field this season, ending the regular season with his best game yet.
Youngster #20 Vetle Skagmo has emerged as a player you need to know where he is on the field. He now has back to back games with interceptions, and has recorded three of them on the season in 6 games played. Skagmo is tied for second place on the interceptions leader list for the entire Superserien, all with one less game played than the current leader. This guy has played well, and to think this is only his second season of senior level football.
Last I want to give a shoutout to the entire Vikings coaching staff, consisting of HC Derek Mann, DC Adam Lukasiewicz, OL coach Elias Kjelling, DL coach Aleksander Andric, DB coach Bror Jahre, LB coach Herman Eckbo, and RB coach Frode Bratbak. In the Vikings’ first season in Sweden, this coaching staff has navigated injuries at key positions and adversity, and managed to put the Vikings in the playoffs. A round of applause for the coaching staff, and good luck in the playoffs!