Suffering a surprise loss in their regular season finale, the Parsons Vikings lost to the Columbus Titans, 1412, at Marvel Park on Friday night.
“It was a frustrating evening overall for our offense,” Parsons head coach Jeff Schibi said. “We moved the ball effectively but shot ourselves in the foot and stalled out in the red zone on a few drives. Defensively, we played outstanding. Columbus had a 30-yard pass and a 50-yard pass and that’s all the positive yardage they had all night. I was happy with how our defense played. Giving up a kickoff return after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter was frustrating. In the end, we didn’t make enough plays to win the game.”
Injuries started to mount for the Vikings. Star running back Chandler Hentzen played on a sprained ankle, Wyatt Shultz was limited and platoon running back Da’Karyi Jones was injured in the second quarter.
“We’re really battling some injuries to our top players right now,” Schibi said. “Chandler Hentzen is visibly hobbled. Wyatt Shultz didn’t play any defense. And Da’Karyi Jones got carted off the field. But we need to have a next-man-up mentality. We knew we were guaranteed a home playoff game and we did enough work this season to earn that. We’ll see what happens.”
Penalties were also an issue for the Vikings against the Titans with yellow laundry repeatedly keeping Parsons behind the sticks.
“I would rather refrain from commenting on any penalties or officiating,” Schibi said. “I respectfully decline to comment.”
Stats for Friday’s game were unavailable at press time.
Columbus improved to 2-6 with the win while Parsons fell to 3-5.
Up next
Despite the loss, Parsons still secured a second place finish in the district and a home playoff game.
The Vikings will host Wellsville on Friday night in the first round of the Class 3A bracket.
“Wellsville is a really good football team that has a lot of returners from a team that made the state semifinals last year,” Schibi said. “They have some tough losses to some really good teams. They are a darn good football team that’s really physical and fast. They fly around defensively. We’ll have to play sound defense and move the ball and eliminate penalties. That’ll give us a chance to win.”
Schibi said he expects Hentzen and Shultz to be available.
“All three have ankle sprains and Da’Karyi also has a back injury,” Schibi said. “Wyatt also has a calf injury. Each of the injuries won’t heal this season. So it’s a nagging injury that will heal after the season is over. I expect Chandler and Wyatt to play. Da’Karyi at this point would be doubtful.”
