Sports : Bohnsack returns to lead VS to 33-15 win over CPU in season opener

Blake Bohnack's 50-yard pass to Tyler Bartz, along with his 65-yard punt return, led VS to victory.

Sitting out all of his sophomore season with an injury, Blake Bohnsack missed being on the field, making plays, trying to help the Viking win.

“But I didn't know how much I missed it until tonight, when I got back out there,” said Bohnsack, a junior who completed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Bartz and returned a punt 65 yards for another score to lead the Vikings to a 33-15 win over Center Point-Urbana in Friday's season opener.

Bohnsack is playing healthy for the first time in three years; although he played most of his freshman season, he spent much of that year with a cast on his hand. He was however, able to catch passes and even recover a fumble that season.

Bohnsack led the Vikings to scores on their first two drives. He completed passes and ran for several yards, setting up a touchdown run by Will Edwards. The TD pass to Bartz was the Vikings' second score.

Bohnsack and Bartz have practiced that play many times; the Vikings' strong running game makes the play-action pass fool the secondary and gives the speedy Bartz an extra step.

“Bartz is a State Track runner-up,” says Bohnsack. “Coaches tell me to just throw him the ball, to put some air under it and he will get to it.”

Bartz had finished a very close second in the 400M run at the State Track Meet; the winner of that race was CPU's JoJo Frost, who was playing in the secondary during Friday's game – although he was assigned to the receivers opposite Bartz.

The Vikings had built a 26-0 lead, adding two more running touchdowns. CPU scored once late in the first half, and both teams scored again in the second half to make the final score 33-15.

Coach Jim Womochil said that the Vikings approached the opening season with three possible quarterbacks. Along with Bohnsack, seniors Jared Thompson and Nate Struve spent time leading the team in practices and scrimmages.

“Thompson and Struve are big, athletic kids who can throw the ball a long way,” said Womochil. “But Bohnsack has done a little better job of running the show.”

Womochil said he could not be more proud of the Vikings' performance. In addition to the strong offensive showing, the Viking defense shut down the CPU running game.

Senior Tanner Davis led the Viking rushing attack, gaining 97 yards on 18 attempts and scoring two touchdowns.

The Vikings will travel to Union next week, where they will face a team that is bigger and more physical, said Womochil.

“They have one of the best players in the state (UNI linebacker recruit Brock Hadachek),” says the coach.

See game stats HERE.