HUMBOLDT — Their play at times was as sloppy as the weather Friday.
But when Humboldt High’s Cubs settled down after halftime, they were able to put some distance between them and the visiting Northeast High Vikings of Arma. The Cubs extended an 8-0 halftime lead with two second-half scores to win 22-0.
The victory in Humboldt’s season-opener marks a triumphant return to the sideline for head coach K.B. Criss, who last manned the helm for the Cubs in 2005.
“I’m very happy to get the win,” Criss said. “I’m proud of the kids. They played well as a team.”
Humboldt narrowly missed several scoring opportunities in the first half, as the remnants of Hurricane Isaac pelted the players with a slow-to-steady drizzle and gusts of wind from every direction.
Quarterback Nathan Whitcomb connected with wideout Tanner McNutt deep on the left sideline for a 74-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter for an 8-0 lead.
They fell short, however, two other times deep in Viking territory, losing the ball on downs. A shanked punt and subsequent return to the Viking 5-yard-line was negated by a personal foul penalty.
“We had another long pass that we dropped,” Criss said. “We made some mistakes and left a lot of points on the board.”
Humboldt’s running game, keyed by the blocking of fullback Trey Johnson, opened running lanes for tailback Jacob Carpenter, who ran for 122 yards, and a pair of 22-yard touchdown runs in the second half to cap the scoring.
“I hate to make excuses, but strange things can happen when you’re dealing with a wet ball and conditions like that,” Criss said.
Whitcomb connected on 5 of 17 passes for 110 yards. Carpenter added 26 yards on three receptions to go with McNutt’s 74-yard bomb. Johnson also rushed for 19 yards for the Cubs.
“We did a good job of getting to the ball and gang tackling.”
Humboldt forced seven Northeast turnovers in the contest.
Johnson and Whitcomb each recovered a fumble and picked off errant Northeast passes. Also recovering fumbles for Humboldt were Bake Crawford, Justin Meins and Dustin Prock.
Humboldt limited Northeast to 166 yards of total offense.
“I’m excited because now we can work on getting better for next week,” Criss said.
