Vikings dominate Warriors, 36-7

LEIPSIC — Mohawk scored with 56 seconds left in the first half to get within seven points of Leipsic Friday night. The Vikings came out of the halftime break and scored 22 straight points to advance to the Division VI regional semifinals, 36-7."We talked about it at halftime. We should've been up by three scores, and we're up by one." Leipsic coach Joe Kirkendall said. "I got to be a little less conservative. I got to trust them to do what they're going to do, and we did that in the second half."Leipsic (10-1) scored first with 3:30 left in the first quarter when sophomore quarterback Marc Kirkendall hit receiver Avery Paris on a flag route for a 16-yard touchdown. Kirkendall's pass fell incomplete on the two-point attempt, and Leipsic led 6-0.The Warriors responded on the next drive as Andon Clouse completed a 17-yard pass on a slant route to sophomore receiver Levi Tiell to get across midfield. The next play, Mohawk's Kaden Bish ran up the middle then cut out left for a 28-yard carry to get to the Vikings' 12-yard line. Two plays later though, Clouse was picked off by Leipsic's Paris to come away with no points in the red zone.The Vikings were able to march down the field on their ensuing drive—thanks to a 49-yard pass from Kirkendall to junior Marquise Williams. Mohawk's defense livened up, and a few plays later was able to force a turnover-on-downs after Kirkendall's pass was incomplete on fourth-and-goal from the four-yard line.Leipsic's defense was able to force a three-and-out, and Clouse's punt was returned by Paris 43 yards for a TD. Kirkendall tossed it to senior tight end Mill Paniagua for two points to make it 14-0 with 7:34 remaining in the first half.After getting the ball back, the Vikings picked up a big first down on a 42-yard rush by Williams. The Warriors' defense held firm, and another Kirkendall incompletion on fourth down turned the ball over to Mohawk.The Red & Black had to punt the ball away, but a three-and-out by their defense sent the Vikings special teams unit out onto the field. Then, Leipsic's punt was blocked by the Warriors' Owen Patrizi. Owen's brother, Aden Patrizi, scooped the ball up and scored from a couple yards out. The PAT was good, and Mohawk (9-3) led 14-7 going into the half.After that, it was all Vikings.A 10-yard screen pass from Leipsic's Kirkendall to Paniagua on third-and-short followed by a 12-yard scramble by Kirkendall moved the Vikings deep into enemy territory. A couple plays later, Kirkendall passed over the middle to sophomore Aaron Hazelton for a 28-yard TD reception. Kirkendall completed a short pass to Paniagua for the two-point conversion. It was 22-7 in favor of Leipsic with 5:46 to go in the third quarter.The Vikings got the ball back quickly, and put together an 11-play, 66-yard scoring drive that took four-and-a-half minutes off of the clock. Leipsic's Hazelton picked up a first down on third-and-short with a two-yard rush. After a false start by the Vikings, Kirkendall completed a pass to Hazleton for 10 yards. Hazelton's six-yard scamper the next play moved the chains for Leipsic. On fourth-and-1, Kirkendall threw a short pass left to Hazelton—who then took it to the house for a 35-yard TD pass. Viking freshman Preston Schroeder punched in the two-point attempt. The score was 30-7 with 30 ticks left in the third quarter.Leipsic capped off the scoring by going 94 yards on 11 plays. A 14-yard pass on a slant route from Kirkendall to Paris moved the sticks followed by an 18-yard completion between the pair three plays later.A 44-yard run by Williams gave the Vikings first-and-goal from the Mohawk 7. Two plays later, Williams crossed the goal line from a yard out.Leipsic threw for 235 yards and rushed for 194 yards for a total of 429 offensive yards on the night.Kirkendall was 15-of-24 for 235 passing yards and three TDs. Williams led the team in rushing with 101 yards and a TD on eight attempts to go with five catches, 81 yards, and a receiving TD. Hazelton had five catches for 98 yards and two TDs as well as 59 rushing yards. Paris had five receptions for 64 yards.Mohawk had 176 yards through the air and just 47 yards on the ground for 223 total yards.Clouse went 11-for-24 passing for 176 yards and an interception. Bish led the team with 31 rushing yards, and Tiell had five catches for 102 yards. "We're just bummed out that the season's over," Mohawk coach Eric Daniel said. Daniel went on to say that this year's team was a great group of kids that he loved being around. He told his players after the game that he appreciated everything that they've accomplished."They kind of moved the culture, and the expectations, and our standards along in the direction that we wanted to go."Leipsic will host Pandora-Gilboa (9-3) next Friday. Pandora won at North Baltimore last night, 63-42.