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Vikings Fall in finale

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Created on Monday, 31 October 2011 16:31
Written by Eric Berry

Vikings Stumble at Rice

 

From Staff Reports

 

It was a bittersweet day for the LI Vikings on Saturday, as they fell to the Rice Green Knights 41-16, but saw a Senior Craig St. Hilaire establish a new rushing record.

 

St. Hilaire carried the pigskin 32 times and gained 171 yards. On the season he finished with 234 carries and 1,366, averaging 5.8 yards per attempt. He also had 9 touchdowns. The previous record holder, Nick Guyer, set the record in 2001 playing in ten games. He broke former LI coach Rick Cameron’s record set back in 1966.

 

Lyndon Coach Dan Nolan couldn’t say enough about the stellar season, and career, St. Hilaire put together. “Obviously he had a great career, but just looking at the stats only tells part of the story.  Craig was a supremely durable player, a true testament to his toughness and his willingness to prepare his body in the offseason.  He started lifting as a sophomore and has been one of the most committed kids I've ever been around,” Nolan said.

 

“If it wasn’t for that great work ethic, he never would have survived the season.  At the end of the day, he never missed a game in three years of playing varsity football, quite an accomplishment,” he added.

 

In his junior and senior years, St. Hilaire totaled 397 carries for 2,061 yards!

 

The Vikings took the lead after one quarter of play, 8-7, after a 19 yard touchdown scamper from the bruising full back. However, turnovers turned the momentum into Rice’s favor rather quickly. Lyndon committed 3 fumbles and threw 2 interceptions with a couple of those being in the red zone. After an emotional win over their archrivals, the St. Johnsbury Academy Hilltoppers, the Vikings just didn’t have their “mojo” against the Green Knights.

 

Despite cutting the Rice lead to 27-16 in the 3rd quarter, the Vikings special teams allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown which effectively put the game on ice. The Green Knights closed out the scoring and the Vikings ended their season with a record of 4 and 5.