The no. 33 was, after all, the jersey number of senior Seth Fraughton who died on Aug. 4 at Bear Lake.
Initially there was silence from the capacity crowd and then the Viewmont players began chanting"33!"
It's the stuff movies are made of.
"Seth was in all of our hearts tonight," said Viking quarterback Chris Larsen. "This is amazing."
The final score was 33-8, but with everything this Viking team and community endured since that tragic August morning, the drama of the moment seemed well deserved.
"It's really something, isn't it?" said head coach Robbie Gunter looking at the scoreboard. "We all noticed the score after Parker's run and the rain, but we kept playing and we wanted to score. This is just the way the score ended. It gives me goose bumps."
Viewmont and Orem played to a scoreless tie in the first quarter with the Tigers winning the game of field position. But all of that quickly changed in the second period when senior Chad Randall forced a fumble, which was recovered by Winters. Larsen paid Randall for his defensive play immediately as the senior quarterback launched a 50 yard bomb to Randall to give Viewmont a 7-0 lead.
The score remained 7-0 until Viewmont took advantage of two Orem mistakes and Larsen found Randall again for an 11-yard score with 2:03 before halftime and then tight end Sam Graham for a third touchdown pass with :23 before the break, giving the Vikings a 20-0 cushion.
Larsen picked up his fourth touchdown pass midway through the third quarter when he found Levi Ball for a 12- yard score.
"I give all the credit to my offensive line and the receivers and backs," Larsen said. "They gave me great protection and the guys made some great catches. I give them 100 percent of the credit"
Larsen, in his first varsity start, finished 9-for-20 passing for 143 yards, with the four touchdowns and one interception. He also picked up 63 yards on seven runs for 206 all-purpose yards.
"Every play I thought about Seth," Larsen said. "We all did."
Viewmont's defense also gave the Tigers fits, holding the visitors to just 130 yards for the game. On two occasions Randall caused a fumble that was recovered by Winters.
"What I was excited about was that we scored touchdowns that were set up by defense and special teams," Gunter said. "That is what we talk about all the time to these guys, that one part of the team is as important as the other parts. When the defense or special teams play well, good things are going to happen. Tonight's game proved that."
The Vikings also played their first game on the new synthetic turf field that was finished just hours prior to kick off.
"This was a great night," Gunter said. "Playing on the new field, getting the win, scoring 33 points, all of it. What a night."
sschulte@davisclipper.com
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