Noxon Falls to Charlo
Noxon faced the fifth-ranked class C team in the state on Friday and came up short. The Red Devils dropped their second straight to Charlo, 26-0. The Vikings advanced their undefeated record to 4-0 in conference and 5-0 overall as the Red Devils slipped to 2-2 in conference and 3-2 overall.
“Charlo has scored 60 on people, they’ve scored 50 on people, they’ve just been kicking everybody’s tail and they just didn’t do that to us,” Noxon head coach Greg Misner said. “This is the first time in as long as I can remember that Charlo hasn’t scored 40.”
“I know we really did want to punch one in, but we just couldn’t do it,” he added. “I know they wanted to win as bad as they do every week.”
Chico Stipe had another outstanding game for the Vikings, as he was a factor in all four scores. He kick-started Charlo’s attack by connecting with Colton Andrews on a six-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. He would go on to score twice more before halftime on rushes of 11 and seven yards, before returning an interception 70 yards to the house in the third quarter.
“We played tough the whole game,” Misner said. “Charlo didn’t exactly run all over us, they really needed to work at it.”
Stipe led all rushers gaining 154 rushing yards on 11 carries, while senior running back Tyrell Wilkinson paced the Red Devils with 88 yards on 14 attempts.
This loss was the second in as many weeks for Noxon after a school best 3-0 start, and Misner thinks with a little fine tuning, his team can get back to their winning ways. “We had some crucial penalties, or quarterback center exchanges, just at the wrong times” he said. “There were a couple of second downs, second and short when the ball went through the quarterbacks hands, and then it ends up being third and 13.”
Despite the loss, Misner’s Red Devils are still on pace to set a record for wins in a single season. “Last year we tied the school for the best record that Noxon ever had with a 4-4 record,” he said. “We’ve been building.”
The Red Devils are on pace to have their first winning season after beginning their program in 1999 and experiencing some serious growing pains. This year’s senior class improved each season. They were winless, 0-8, as freshman, 2-6 as sophomores, 4-4 last year as juniors, and are currently 3-2 as seniors.
“In the last power-poll we were actually ranked twelfth in the state and Noxon has never been ranked in the state before, so that was a pretty big accomplishment for these kids,” Misner said.
The Devils will travel to Arlee to face the Scarlet Warriors on Friday. Arlee boasts a 2-2 record, and is coming off a 60-20 win versus Victor. Like Noxon, the Scarlet Warriors’ two losses came at the hands of Drummond and Charlo. Misner thinks his Red Devils will have a good opportunity to get their record-tying fourth win, but it won’t be easy as both teams are fighting for playoff berths.
“Every year it’s kind of a dog fight between us and them. It’s turning into more of a rivalry game,” Misner said.
“I’m really proud of my team this year and what they’re doing. I told them, I wouldn’t wanna coach any other team in the state right now,” Misner said. “The kids went into this season wanting to make the playoffs and they don’t intend to lose that.”