Thursday was a busy night for Bishop Verot athletics. While its baseball team was in Port St. Lucie playing for the State Class 3A Championship, the football team was playing Port Charlotte in the spring classic at Viking Stadium.

Port Charlotte came out on top in football 17-0, but the Vikings celebrated the news of the school’s second state baseball championship with a 4-3 win over Pensacola Catholic in Port St. Lucie.

Playing without five key players, football coach Phil Dorn tested the full scope of the squad in the four periods of the game. Dorn used three quarterbacks under center. He said that come fall, four players will be vying for the starting QB position since one was busy playing baseball Thursday night.

Dorn, who also serves as athletic director, lamented the fact he could not be with the baseball team. Because of the school’s schedule it was impractical to reschedule the football game to another night.

The only touchdowns in the game came on short runs by two Pirates quarterbacks. The Pirates used three of their own under center. Chase Russell scored from seven yards out in the second quarter, and Tyler Harless punched it in from inside the 1 in the last minute of the game.

The Pirates’ Brion Ashley had four field goal chances, but connected on only one.

Offensively, the Vikings managed just five first downs compared to the Pirates’ 19. The Pirates crossed into Verot territory nine times, while Verot was in Pirates territory three times.

With some fine passing by Buck Fortier, the Vikings drove from their own 20 to the Pirates 35 just before halftime, but on the last play Fortier’s pass was intercepted by Greg Jennis, one of his two picks in the game.

At the beginning of the second half, The Pirates were stopped on the first three plays. On fourth down, Ashley was tackled for a loss when he couldn’t get off a punt in time. Verot got the ball at the Pirates 25, and drove to the 16, but Fortier fumbled it away on third down.

Verot’s last opportunity came after the Pirates’ final touchdown. With less than a minute to play, Dylan Hinkle returned the kickoff 69 yards. With a personal foul added to the end of the run, the Vikings had the ball at the Pirates 13, but could not score before the clock ran out.

Both coaches were happy that all of their players got into the game.

“We played our number one guys against their number one guys in the first quarter,” said Dorn. “In the second, those were our number two guys. Their second team was better than ours tonight.”

One of the stars for the Vikings was Paul Cecere, who played both sides of the ball, making several tackles on defense and running the ball on offense. His 30-yard gain was the longest play from scrimmage for the Vikings.

“I’m not worried about our team after this game,” Dorn said. “We’ll be there when the fall comes.”

When fall rolls around, the Vikings will have a brand new playing surface. The company that installed the artificial field will replace it because of deterioration problems. The field is still under warranty, so it will be done at no cost to Verot.

“The field will be replaced starting next Monday,” Dorn said. “It will be a three-week project.”

Port Charlotte0 10 0 7 – 17

Bishop Verot0 0 0 0 – 0

Second Quarter

PC – Chase Russell 7 run (Brion Ashley kick).

PC – FG, Ashley 38.

Fourth Quarter

PC – Tyler Harless 1 run (Ashley kick).