POPLAR GROVE — North Boone’s sophomore connection continued to shine Friday, helping the Vikings to a 53-20 blowout of Marengo on homecoming night.

Alex Albrecht had 150 yards rushing and 100 yards passing before halftime as the Vikings scored 18 seconds into the game and rarely let up. His twin brother, Jon, had two first-quarter fumble recoveries, as well as a first-half interception and a second-quarter TD catch.

In the end, Marengo (1-5, 0-2) had no answer as North Boone (3-3, 1-1) built a 47-6 third-quarter lead before gliding in.

“When we are healthy, we can compete with any team out there,” North Boone coach Aaron Sullivan said. “Alex did a great job of seeing, and reading, the defenses all night. This was a very big win for us. Very big.”

Alex Albrecht sprinted for a 65-yard touchdown on a QB draw on the first play from scrimmage. His 1-yard TD dive and his bouncing, 13-yard scoring run gave the Vikings early momentum, and his 15-yard TD pass to his brother with less than two minutes left in the first half sent Marengo into panic mode.

“We wanted to mix it up, and it felt good to get everything working out there,” said the sophomore QB, who accounted for four passing TDs and three more on the ground. “Our offensive line did the job all night. There aren’t too many nights when things are clicking like this.”

Marengo quarterback Scott Donley scored on a 62-yard sprint on the first play of the second half to cut the score to 27-6. But the Viking twins connected on a 31-yard pass into the Indian red zone before combining on a 6-yard TD pass play with an answer less than two minutes later.

The two connected two more times in the third quarter to put the game away; and to help get the Vikings their first Big Northern East victory of the season.

“Once we got momentum as a team, we didn’t stop. On both offense and defense, we were tough today,” said Jon Albrecht, the area’s leading receiver. “We wanted to establish some things tonight, and we did. Marengo played tough, but we just went after it.”

Jon Albrecht finished with seven catches for 129 yards, with three scoring receptions from his twin. Alex Albrecht was 11-for-14 for 173 yards while carrying the ball 13 times for 137 yards.

Donley rushed for 137 yards on 15 carries to lead Marengo, still in search of another win to go along with the victory that ended a
29-game losing streak earlier this year.

- Jay Taft, rrstar.com