Football takes Carroll in Fall Festival game

Ben Webster

The Vikings trounced the Carroll Pioneers this Saturday as Eric Aspenson (’08) and Derek Micke (’09) put on a show. Aspenson connected with Micke for sixty and thirty yard touchdowns. Micke is a converted defensive back, and recorded his biggest day (9 catches, 2 TDs, 177 yards). The final was a 27 to 14 Lawrence victory and the contest had all the ingredients for an upset from the very beginning: a confident Viking squad rolling after consecutive wins, a homecoming fan base eager for some alma mater pride, and the clear crisp fall weather setting the mood.
The offense began strongly, marching down the field with Aspenson smoothly delivering a 1 yard shuttle pass to Matt Hintz (’10) for a score, catapulting the Vikes to an early lead. The defense played great most of the day, suppressing Carroll’s stellar running back to a measly two scores on 2 and 3 yard runs. Matt Frelich (’10) contributed to the defensive effort with a fumble recovery in the second quarter, and Brian Janssen (’10) made an interception and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown, which sealed the victory. It was his second career TD.
Kyle Gauthier (’11) made an exceptional play, faking a punt, sprinting out to the left, zigzagging and then diving over three Pioneers for a crucial first down. The visiting parents of Fall Festival loved the theatrics, and you could sense the players reveling in the thought of victory as the clocked ticked away on the two score lead.
Lawrence improved their record to 4-4 and is on the road for their last two games against Ripon College and Macalester College (MN) left. They’ve won 4 out of their last 5 games and are looking forward to capping off their season with wins against these two solid teams.