The Emporia Middle School Vikings brought their season to a close with a 21-6 loss to the Washburn Rural Falcons, dropping Emporia’s record to 4-3.
Despite racking up 281 total yards of offense — 204 on the ground — the Vikings missed opportunities throughout the game, ending three drives inside the Falcons’ 25-yard line and throwing three interceptions. The Viking’s lone touchdown came late in the game on a 22-yard pass from Austin Knight to Collin Thompsen to pull to within a touchdown.
But hope was fleeting, as Washburn Rural scored on its next possession.
After stifling the Falcons on the first two downs, Washburn Rural scored on a 59-yard touchdown run off a counter play to ice the game.
It was a long day for the Emporia defense, which gave up three long plays from scrimmage that resulted in touchdowns, and for the first time this season ended the day with no interceptions, fumbles or sacks.
For the fourth game in a row, Austin Knight carried the ball for more than 100 yards on 14 carries. The top tacklers for the Vikings were Thompsen with five tackles, while Knight had four and Dylan Samuels and Rick Garcia each had three.
The EMS “B” team put the finishing touches on a near-perfect year with a victory over the Washburn Rural Falcons. Once again, Cody Dix turned in a stellar performance with 128 yards rushing, two receptions for 41 yards, a touchdown and a team-leading four tackles.
Brittain Moore completed 5 of 7 passes and rushed for a touchdown.
Christian Romero, Preston Burch, Bryce Dakin, Devon Walburn and Sage Thurston each contributed three tackles. The Viking “B” team finished the year with a school-record five victories and only one loss. EMS outscored its opponents 114-50.