GRAND ISLAND —  With the wind whipping around Masters Field, who could have guessed the air attack would be the difference for Grand Island?

The Vikings took down Niagara-Wheatfield 31-0 on the strength of a pair of touchdown receptions from senior wide receiver Nick Kellner on Saturday. Strong gusts of west-to-east wind wreaked havoc on the kicking game, but Vikings quarterback Tom Dzielski completed 10 passes for 193 yards and two scores.

“I think he made some nice throws,” Grand Island coach Dean Santorio said. “It wasn't easy conditions to throw under, either.” 

With Dzielski behind center the Vikings offense moved down the field despite the blustery weather, something the Falcons were unable to do.

Grand Island opened the scoring in the second quarter with a 67-yard touchdown pass from Dzielski to Kellner, who bounced off of a N-W defender and sprinted down the right sideline for the score. 

On the ensuing kick, N-W’s Alec Cody returned the ball to the 45 but fumbled, and Grand Island recovered. Dzielski went deep to Kellner on first down for another 41 yards, setting up a three-yard Pat Gallagher touchdown to make the score 14-0 with 5:48 left in the second quarter. A 25-yard field goal from Nate Benoit would make the score 17-0 at half-time for the Vikings.

Kellner finished the game with six catches for 168 yards, while Gallagher had 20 carries for 129 yards. Kellner’s second touchdown catch came on Grand Island’s first drive of the third quarter. Dzielski found Kellner on the right side, where a gang of Niagara-Wheatfield tacklers found him. However, he drove the pile forward and spun to the right, tip-toeing down the sideline and breaking free to sprint another 10 yards into the end zone. 

“Our receivers made some nice plays for us,” Santorio said.

While Grand Island’s offense found a rhythm in the wind, the Falcons struggled against the Viking defense. Starting quarterback Anthony Oliveri went 0 for 2 on the day and was pulled in favor of Brendan Gilewski, who went 2 for 8 and an interception. 

The Falcons didn’t register a first down until 7:47 left in the fourth quarter on a Alec Cody 20-yard run. By then the damage was already done, and the Falcons were unable to get into the red zone all day. With less than three minutes to play Gilewski was picked off by Ben Tomkins, who capped off the scoring with a 62-yard return for a touchdown. 

Santorio was quick to praise his defense after the game.

“They played really well,” he said. “That was our biggest concern because we came out of the scrimmage a little disappointed in our tackling. We did much better today and I think we showed toughness.”

“They're a good football team,” Falcons coach Dave Hack said. “We've got to match their intensity and we've got to match their execution.” 

While Hack was disappointed with the offense, he said N-W’s defensive effort was strong.

“Our defense played really well, and our special teams played pretty well,” he said. “We've got to work on taking care of the football. You can’t turn the ball over and when we’re trying to get things going.” 

Despite seeing his starter get pulled early in the game, Hack said there’s no quarterback controversy for the Falcons.

“Anthony Oliveri will be our starting quarterback on Monday,” Hack said. “So we’ll be ready to go.”

Grand Island plays Williamsville South at home next Saturday, while Niagara-Wheatfield will play Starpoint.