The night in Goodland, Kansas got off to a quick start after a 68 yard kickoff return by the Cowboys’ deep man, Manuel Gonzalez, which put them deep in Viking territory.

On the third play from scrimmage, the freshman quarterback, Cole Linton, connected on a 12 yard touchdown pass with Mason Murray to quickly put the Cowboys ahead with 10:48 left in the first quarter. The point after attempt was no good, leaving the Cowboys with a 6 point lead early in the game.

After five straight empty drives from Smoky Valley and Goodland, things got started for the Vikings with a crucial interception of the young quarterback, by Brandt Heble. This started, what ended up being, a 13 play, 55 yard drive that ended with a Stambaugh touchdown. Followed by a failed 2 point conversion, the Vikings and the Cowboys were evenly matched at 6-6, with 23.7 seconds left to play in the first half.

The second half started off slow, with an empty third quarter, but the Vikings finally put it in the end zone with 4:18 left in the second quarter. Stambaugh punched it in from 2 yards out, and followed it up with a completion from Lucas to Brewer for the extra 2. This put the Vikings up 14-6, looking to hold the lead to solidify their second win of the season.

The Cowboys though, were not going down without a fight. Goodland’s offense marched down the field, not to be stymied by a couple huge sacks from the Viking defense, for a 12-play touchdown drive. They finished it off with a 15 yard touchdown pass from Linton to Brysun Waters.

With just 31 seconds left in the game, The Cowboys connected on a tight pass from Linton to Mason Hernandez to tie it up at 14-all. The Vikings proceeded to kneel out the clock and send this game into overtime.

With only 4 plays, from the 10 yard line, per the Kansas High School Football overtime rules, each team’s defense came up with huge stops on their first try. The second attempt from each team was much more effective though.

Just when the Viking offense looked stopped, on third and 6, Jake Lucas leaped for the pylon and put the Vikings in the end zone. After a false start penalty that backed up the Vikings, coach Tim Lambert opted to go for the point after kick attempt. Brandon Malm put it right between the uprights, to push the Viking lead to 21-14.

On the first play of the Cowboys’ second overtime possession, Linton connected with Devontay Hardy to make it a one point game, 21-20. The Goodland offense tried to go right back to Hardy on a deep slant in the back of the end zone, but Tate Brewer made a stellar defensive play to end the game and give the Vikings a thrilling, one-point game.

The Viking offense ran 63 plays for 227 total games, compared to 45 plays and 257 yards from the Cowboys. Stambaugh led the charge for the Vikings, punching it into the end zone twice, while the freshman, Linton, led the Cowboys to 134 passing yards and three touchdowns.

The Vikings improved their road record to 2-0 on the year, putting them at 2-3 overall. They head out to west again next Friday for a tough matchup with the 3-2, Scott City Beavers.