Vikings dominate Tigers during lopsided victory

The Middleton Vikings scored a touchdown on each of their first 11 possessions to roll to a lopsided 76-26 win over the Mountain Home Tigers Friday night at Middleton.

The Vikings scored on their opening possession on the first play from scrimmage when Hyder Jessup swept around the left side 80 yards for a score. Just 16 seconds into the ball game, Middleton led 7-0.

The Vikings took advantage of short fields all night long and built up a 35-6 lead after a quarter. They led 49-13 at the half.

Mountain Home scored in every quarter, with Jake Hennessey hooking up with J.T. Cristobal on an 80-yard touchdown pass in the first period.

After a 47-yard pass from Jake Hennessey to Robert Jackio put the ball on the Middleton three, Hennessey took it in from there for the score in the second quarter.

Jake Hennessey, who threw for 363 yards on the night, set up the Tigers' third score of the night on a 55-yard pass play to Dion Salinas down to the Viking 14, and then threw to Ben Ceccarelli for a 14-yard touchdown.

The Tigers' final score came on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Hennessey to Robert Jackio with 52.5 seconds left in the game. That made it 76-26 and the Vikings ran out the remaining time on the clock for the win.

"We couldn't really slow them down on defense," said Tiger head football coach Brian Floyd of the Middleton offense, which racked up 418 yards on the ground with 15 different players running the ball, and 142 yards through the air.

"I thought our O-line played one of their best games of the year," said Coach Floyd. "They pass-blocked really well for at least the first three quarters and were able to give Jake time to throw. I was really happy about that, because we've been having some problems with the line, but they showed up and played a really good game.

The score wasn't what Mountain Home wanted, especially on defensive, according to the coach

"But offensively, we were much more consistent, though we did leave some points on the field," Coach Floyd added. "We've just got to keep working at it and be more disciplined."

Offensively, the Tigers rushed the ball 14 times for 15 net yards.

Jake Hennessey had 16 yards and a touchdown on nine rushes. Robert Jackio rushed the ball four times for three yards and Ben Ceccarelli had one carry for minus four yards.

Through the air, Jake Hennessey completed 19 of 30 for 363 yards and three touchdowns. The quarterback also had three passes picked off.

Robert Jackio caught five passes for 128 yards and a touchdown, J.T. Cristobal caught two passes for 92 yards and a score, Ben Ceccarelli caught four passes for 44 yards and a score, Dion Salinas caught two passes for 66 yards, Juan Silva had three receptions for 24 yards, Tyler Knauth caught one pass for five yards, and Mike Daniels had one catch for three yards.

The loss dropped the Tigers fall to 0-8 on the season and 0-7 in conference play. They close out their season Friday night at home against Emmett.

There will be 22 seniors being honored prior to the start of the game for Senior Night.