FeedsVikes sail by Devils, ready for playoffs
The Inkster Vikings finished off a remarkable regular season with an impressive 25-0 victory against non-league host Grosse Ile on Friday.
The seventh straight win boosted the Vikings to an 8-1 record that earned them home-field advantage for the pre-district match-up against Clawson (7-2) set for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Grosse Ile Red Devils put up a good fight in the first half and held the mighty Viking offense scoreless for 24 minutes.
Even though Inkster Coach Greg Carter made some adjustments at half time, his Vikings didn’t score until there was 41 seconds left in the third frame. Inkster redeemed an earlier fumble on the Devils’ 7-yard line when Quarterback Aaron Shavers directed a five-play drive that ended on a five-yard keeper. J.J. Snelling’s kick put Inkster on the board, 7-0.
On the Vikes’ first possession of the fourth quarter—a second-and-10 play from their 30—Shavers let loose a strike that Derrick Coker took in for a 70-yard score at 9:56 of the final session.
Senior running back Tim Hogue made it a 19-0 game when he capped off a seven-play drive with a five-yard run and senior back-fielder Anre’ Goree finished off the scoring with a 35-yard jaunt to the end zone with less than 3:00 to play.
Hogue led the ground attack with 111 yards on 16 carries. Goree added 59 yards on eight touches and had an interception on defense. Shavers had 33 rushing yards to go with his 152 yards passing on five attempts.
Coker was the recipient of three passes for 103 yards.
“We had a good idea what (Grosse Ile) would do offensively but defensively we didn’t know how they would line up,” Carter said. “We had to adjust and I was impressed with how Grosse Ile played. They were excited to play us and they played us tough especially with it being the last game.”
This is the second consecutive year that the Vikings have made the playoffs under Carter now in his second year in Inkster.
“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to go far. I’m more encouraged this year than I was last year.
“The kids are excited, too,” he added. “They’ve been asking who we’ll be playing in the playoffs.”
The playoff selections were made at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday on Fox Sports Network-Detroit. Inkster and Clawson will play in Division 6, Region 4, District 2 competition. Carter exchanged game tapes with the Clawson coach earlier in the week so each can prepare for Saturday’s showdown.
“We don’t know much about them right now except that they are 7-2,” Carter said on Monday. “I just exchanged tapes with their coach and I think they’re going to be a pretty good team.”
The winner of the game will play the winner of the Madison Heights Bishop Foley (6-3) and Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (8-1) for the district championship.
