In a wild game that saw 107 total points scored, the LBCC Vikings came up short against Saddleback, losing 63-44.  The Vikings fall to 3-3 and 0-2 in conference play, while Saddleback is 5-2 and a perfect 3-0 in the Southern Conference. 

The scoring started early, with LBCC jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead, which narrowed to 10-7 at the end of the first.  Saddleback exploded in the second quarter, though, and there was little the LBCC defense could do to contain it.  Saddleback QB Brian Shrock threw four touchdowns in the second, as the Vikings were outscored 28-7, giving Saddleback a 35-17 lead and halftime that proved to be insurmountable. 

It’s hard to find fault with the Vikings offense, who scored 44 points and gained 415 yards on the night.  QB Josh Powell’s completion percentage remained less than impressive, at 17 of 44, or about 38%.  But still, he managed to throw for 321 yards and three scores, including 6 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown to his favorite target Stephen Burton, freshly returned off of a suspension.  The running game wasn’t as productive, gaining only 94 yards, but Darren “Crockett And” Tubbs had a 6-yard touchdown run to start things off.  If there was a problem with this side of the ball for the Vikes, it was Powell’s two interceptions, one of which was returned for Saddleback’s first TD of the evening.

The defense, while allowing an enormous amount of scoring, did return a fumble for a touchdown, and managed to get some pressure on Shrock, sacking him four times and knocking him down an additional five.  Bryan Braman had three sacks on the evening. 

The Vikings will next play on the road, next Saturday at Palomar.