PLAY-OFF EXPERIENCE...is what Sam Smallwood and the Miami East Vikings came away with against traditional state power, Marion Local.

Story by Dwayne Maxson
The Vikings' season came to an end Friday night against Marion Local as they lost 37-0 in the first round of the Division V state playoffs.

Offensively they struggled all night and only managed around 130 yards of total offense. Not even Sam Smallwood could get far as he only managed about 30 yards rushing on the night.

Although they managed to make some plays defensively, they could not stop Flyer quarterback Chris Stucke and the rest of the Flyer offense. Stucke completed 10 of 17 passes for 160 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also returned an interception for touchdown.

"We played well in spots and not so well at other times," said Viking Coach Max Current. "Our boys came in believing in themselves when no one gave them a chance. They played hard like they were going to win. We just made too many mistakes and could not get anything going offensively. Marion Local was just as good as I thought they were. I thought we did make enough plays to make them earn it. Their offense really did not have any real big plays against us. They just kept going at us and getting first downs and got some scores. Our boys learned a lot and hopefully the underclassmen will come back next season and be ready to accomplish even more. I would like to say thank you to our fans as they showed great support tonight."

Miami East finishes the season 8-3 overall and 8-1 in the Cross County Conference.

Marion Local with the win improved to 11-0 overall and will play Cincinnati Deer Park next week.

Score by Quarters:
.....................1.....2.....3....4......Final
Miami East.......0.....0.....0....0..........0
Marion Local....14....10....7....6........37

Scoring Summary:
ML-Marcus Moeller 23 yard pass from Chris Stucke (Dan Fortkamp kick).
ML-Stucke 16 yard interception return (Fortkamp kick).
ML-Dan Fortkamp 28 yard field goal.
ML-Alex Moeller 13 yard pass from Stucke (Fortkamp kick).
ML-Ben Smith 9 yard run (Fortkamp kick).
ML-Jason Wolters 17 yard pass from Stucke (kick failed).