Despite Wheeler's Absence, Vikings Remain Intact

Chase WohrleStaff WriterThe Samo Vikings overpowered former league champion Inglewood in their first league game, despite the absence of offensive and defensive starter Chad Wheeler.Wheeler has a full dislocation in his left shoulder that will require him to be absent from the field for the remainder of the season. Luckily the team has rallied to pick up the slack.Relinquishing his spot as starting tight end, senior Matt Schultz has moved into Wheeler's position on offense as a left tackle. On defense, Chris Collins has stepped in."It was vital for me to fill in when Chad went down," Collins said. "I want to help my team out, in any possible way I can. I'm willing to step in and do whatever it takes."Before the game against the Centennial Apaches on Friday, Oct. 7, the fifth out of ten regular season games, Wheeler said that he would be out for four to six weeks. It is likely that WHeeler has played his last game for Samo."Losing a player like that, you just can't replace him," coach Travis Clark said.Luckily for Wheeler, his recent verbal commitment to the University of Southern California as a defensive end goes untouched. But even though Wheeler will sit out the rest of the season, there is still work to be done on the field."We needed some other guys to step up and fill that gap, we had to keep the momentum going," Clark said.After six games, the Samo defense has allowed only 63 points, averaging 10.5 a game. Offensively the team has scored 179 points, with a game average of 29.8 scored. Comparing these averages, Samo is a winning team, and their 5-1 (1-0 in the league) record supports that.Clark is focusing on maintaining the success of his team. He has come to terms with the loss of a key player, and he is optimistic about Wheeler's future in football."The way I'm looking at it, the next time I see Chad, he'll be in a Trojan jersey," Clark said. cwohrle@thesamohi.com