Chiefs drop opener to Vikings

September 3, 2023

A wedge of blockers in Aiden Miller, Damon Willow, and Adriano Brown led Dairan Augustine up the field - h/t Randy Tucker

Guernsey-Sunrise made their first appearance at the Intertribal Complex at Wyoming Indian High School Friday afternoon and evened their series with Wyoming Indian at one win each. The Vikings won the game 28-8.

Darian Augustine pulled in a low pass – h/t Randy Tucker

In the 51-year history of Wyoming Indian football, this was only the second meeting between the Chiefs and the Vikings. Wyoming Indian won 40-8 last year in Platte County.

Aidan Miller cut to avoid a Viking defender — h/t Randy Tucker

A scoreless opening period featured punts, and sporadic offense by both teams, but Guernsey found the end zone on the first play of the second quarter when receiver Aidan Noggle caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Mason Collar.

Hyrum Magnam fought for extra yards as Ben Neido looked for a block – h/t Randy Tucker

Wyoming Indian played good defense, led by Ryan Martel who made repeated solo tackles on much larger Guernsey runners and receivers.

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LaDainian Brown turned to pitch the ball to Ryan Martel – h/t Randy Tucker

Aidan Miller also had a solid defensive effort.

The Chiefs played well enough to stay in the game and threatened to score on a couple of possessions but a big play by Noggle, a 77-yard punt return with just 1:23 remaining in the opening half broke their rhythm and gave the Vikings a 13-0 lead at the half.

The game was hampered by a non-functioning scoreboard that resulted in the back judge having to keep time on the field.

Aidan Miller and Damon Willow forced Guernsey’s Mason Collar to pitch – h/t Randy Tucker

Coller found another receiver in the middle of the third quarter when he hit Korbin Weinhauf on a 19-yard scoring strike. The conversion kick by Collar put the Vikings up 20-0.

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Wyoming Indian ran the ball well at times, paced by a 31-yard run to the two-yard line by Darian Augustine, but the Chiefs couldn’t punch it in.

Adriano Brown and Ben Neido chased down Guernsey quarterback Mason Collar – h/t Randy Tucker

A final Guernsey score came on an 11-yard Noggle run with 7:45 left in the game.

Another good run, this one by Aidan Miller brought the ball to the five-yard line and LaDanian Brown rolled it into the endzone from there on a quarterback keeper.