ARGYLE — Pecatonica-Argyle remained winless through four games after a 35-8 loss to unbeaten Highland Oct. 23. 

“Our kids didn’t quit,” Vikings coach Larry Green said. “The biggest thing is we need to try to get some points on the board, just because that’s going to build some momentum. Our defense has been doing pretty good for us recently, but our offense needs to start coming out and start scoring some points. Once we do that, our momentum is going to start building.”

The Vikings have been trying to tie up some loose ends all season and have seen marked improvement from one week to the next. The Cardinals, however, are a well-oiled machine and took advantage of a couple of key Pec-Argyle misfortunes.

Perhaps more than the execution of X’s and O’s, it was an early turnover that swayed the game. The Vikings wanted to open the contest on defense — and they did. Green wanted the defense to get a stop and force a punt — and they did, in just three plays. 

But the ensuing punt was muffed and Highland recovered at Pec-Argyle’s 35. 

“When you give them a short field and a passing team that is explosive like Highland, you know you can’t have those turnovers like we did in the first half,” Green said. “If we can fix those and take care of the football moving forward, I think that we’re going to be competitive in the rest of the games that we play.”

Five plays later — on fourth down from the 10, Highland scored on a wide-open touchdown pass to Isaac Michek in the flat, just 4:18 into the game.

“(The punt) is what started it. That happened and we didn’t get back up from it until the second half,” junior quarterback Hunter Enloe said. “That can’t happen. If something bad happens, we have to just pick ourselves up and move on.”

The Vikings offense was never able to mount much of a threat, either. Pec-Argyle went 3-and-out on its first possession and fumbled the ball away after just three plays on the second possession. Multiple times throughout the game quarterback Hunter Enloe saw his pass enter the hands of a Cardinals defender, only for the interception to be dropped each time.

“Wrong read,” said Enloe admitting his eyes got big with each throw. “You learn and try to do better next time.”

Highland scored a second touchdown with two seconds left on the clock in the first quarter and made it 21-0 with 9:46 to play in the second. With just 22 seconds left before halftime, the Cardinals capped a 15-play, 60-yard drive that made it a four-score game at 28-0.

“Our kids weren’t hanging their heads. They were trying to find out, ‘how are we going to get back into it?’ They took that initiative before our coaches ever got in there,” Green said of the halftime locker room. “As coaches, we’re talking and making a couple of adjustments. I thought we did and I thought we came out and executed them fairly well and held them to just one score in the second half.”

Pec-Argyle’s first possession of the second half was arguably its best of the night. The Vikings ran 11 plays and gained 34 yards — including picking up a crucial fourth down at midfield. Back-to-back passes to Kegun Brunker were just off the mark on 3rd-and-8 and 4th-and-8, turning the ball back over to the Cardinals. 

“Kegun is pretty explosive once he has the ball in his hands. He’s had good speed and he can take that to the house,” Green said. “We just weren’t able to capitalize, but, you know, we’ll keep working on it and hopefully one of these games we’ll be able to connect.”

Highland engaged the running clock with 2:29 left in the third quarter on a 3-yard plunge by Owyn Halverson. 

Pec-Argyle’s score came late in the game. Clay Ritschard burst through the line and rattled Legion Park with a pummeling hit on a tackle-for-loss run by Brett McGuire. A holding penalty on the next play and a fumble two plays later made it 4th-and-40. Highland’s punter then fumbled snap gave the Vikings the ball at the Cardinals’ 13. On the next play, Brunker ran it into the endzone to break up the goose egg.

“I knew I could beat the guy to the outside edge, so I knew I was going to score that one,” Brunker said.

Highland finished with 126 passing yards on 8 of 14 passing, with starter Justin Miller going 7 of 13 for 109 yards and three touchdowns in the game. Miller added 32 yards rushing on seven carries. Halverson led the Cardinals on the ground with 53 yards on 18 carries, and the Cardinals had 149 yards on 34 attempts and finished with 275 yards of offense.

Brunker led the Vikings with 28 rushing yards on two carries and added a 10-yard catch on a tipped ball. Enloe finished 4 of 12 passing for 23 yards. Pec-Argyle amassed just 44 yards rushing on 22 carries. And had just 67 yards of offense in the contest.

That Vikings have just two more games scheduled on the season, with a road game at Iowa-Grant (0-4) Oct. 30 up next.

“We just have got to work hard this week in practice — have four days of solid practice,” Enloe said.

Darlington 30, Lancaster 13

LANCASTER — The Redbirds improved to 2-1 on the season with a rousing victory over the Flying Arrows Oct. 23. 

Cayden Rankin had two first half touchdowns to put Darlington ahead 12-0, and Braden Davis made it 18-0 with just more than a minute left to halftime.

Lancaster scored in the middle of the third quarter on a 1-yard TD run, but Ethan Schuchart took the ensuing kick 95 yards to the house to make it 24-6. The Arrows scored again in the fourth quarter, but with 3:23 remaining Davis added his second touchdown run.

Darlington gained 313 yards of offense in the contest — including 200 on the ground on 50 carries. Brady Horne led the Redbirds with 86 yards on 22 attempts. Rankin had 35 yards on five rushes and a score, and added a 17-yard TD pass. Davis was 7 of 10 passing for 113 yards and added 23 yards on the ground. Carter Lancaster had five catches for 89 yards.

Up next for Darlington is a road game at Potosi-Cassville Oct. 30.