By Sergio Romero for ESPN Fresno
On Kingsburg High’s Feeder Night, a number of future Vikings loudly cheered on their soon-to-be football team. They soon witnessed the type of football they would be treated to in their near future.
On fourth and goal at Kingsburg’s six-yard line, the Kerman offense elected to bypass a field goal attempt and try for a touchdown late in the first quarter.
Lions senior quarterback Adrian Torres took the snap and immediately faced pressure from the defensive line. Torres tried to get the ball out but it was batted down at the line for an incomplete pass to force a turnover on downs.
That stop set the tone for the rest of the game and was one of many crucial Viking (5-3, 2-1 TCAC) defensive stops in their 10-7 win over Kerman (6-2, 2-1 TCAC) in Kingsburg.
How Kingsburg shut down a top offense
The Lions offense had averaged 43.8 points per game going into their road matchup against Kingsburg. On Friday night, the Vikings held Kerman to their lowest point total since Nov. 10, 2022 when they were held to seven points against Kennedy in the Division III playoffs.
It was a gritty performance by the Kingsburg defense who have only allowed an average of 16.8 points per game this season.
“We pride ourselves on being physical,” Vikings head Coach David Wilson said.
Kingsburg dealt with multiple injuries as they shut down the top offense in the Tri-County Athletic Conference and one of the top offenses in the entire Central Section.
“Our players know we’re in for a fight and they’re not scared of the fight,” Wilson said. “We had a really good gameplan.”
Wilson explained how the team game planned to disguise their defensive coverages and “show [Torres] different looks.”
There were many different blitz packages, fake blitzes and certain defenders dropping into coverage that gave Torres trouble.
Torres came into the game averaging three touchdown passes per game, had only thrown one interception all season and had a 67% completion rate.
On Friday, Torres was held to a 18-for-32 passing clip, for 227 yards, an interception and didn’t record a single touchdown.
The score sat at 10-7 in favor of Kingsburg at halftime, and didn’t change for the rest of the game.
Viking offense controls possession
Despite the low scoring affair, the Kingsburg offense dominated on time of possession.
In the fourth quarter alone, the Vikings chewed roughly 10 minutes and thirty seconds of game clock on a single drive, forced the Lions to use all of their timeouts and forced them to start their final drive on their own nine yard line.
Wilson also gave props to his two running backs, seniors Drew Lunde and Jackson Leibee, who controlled the game down the stretch.
The first score of the game came on a fourth and nine play in the second quarter. Kingsburg junior quarterback David Muxlow found senior receiver Levi Wilson in the corner of the endzone to go up 7-0.
Kerman responded right away after junior running back Jorge Antunez broke off a 65-yard touchdown run to even the score at seven apiece.
The go ahead score came in the final seconds of the first half after nailing a short field goal and taking a 10-7 lead going into the half.
The other major stop the Vikings forced was on a blocked field goal that came with under four minutes in the third quarter, which Wilson agrees was the big moment in the game.
“This is October high school football in the Valley, we needed it,” Wilson said.
Both teams will continue league play on Friday, Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Kerman will look to bounce back against Sierra Pacific at home while Kingsburg will take their momentum into their home game against Reedley.
