LAYTON — Region 1 play opened with a bang Friday night as Viewmont and Northridge met on the gridiron. After 48 minutes of tough-fought football, it was the Vikings (1-0 region, 4-0) who gutted out a 21-13 victory over the Knights (0-1 region, 3-1).

"That was fun," Viewmont coach Robbie Gunter said. "Northridge is a well-coached team and their guys worked hard. I have to give credit to our coaching staff for getting our kids ready to play tonight."

Viewmont began the game just like it did last week — with a touchdown run by Seth Fraughton. Using a handful of backs, including Fraughton, the Vikes charged down the field 75 yards over 5:35 minutes. Fraughton's 6-yard scamper into the endzone capped the drive to give the Vikings the early lead.

The team looked ready to do the same thing on its second drive, but quarterback Greg Madsen fumbled the ball on the Northridge 17 after being pounced on by a group of Knight defenders.

Northridge tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter when Sean Acord scored on a 7-yard keeper.

The Knights took their momentum into the locker room and were moving the ball well in the third quarter, converting a fourth-and-11 to move them into Vikings territory. But a poor handoff on the next play turned into a Viewmont fumble recovery.

The Vikings took advantage of the turnover, scoring on their first drive out of the locker room. They didn't throw the ball once, but instead stuck with their ground attack highlighted by a 7-yard score by Fraughton. The back accounted for 55 of the Vikings 83 yards on the drive.

Northridge turned the ball over again after Acord threw an interception to Chad Higley. The Knights weren't out of luck just yet. Facing 4th and 17, they punted the ball and got a nice roll that left Viewmont at its own 2.

The Knights held the Vikes and took over with great field position at the Viewmont 39.

Northridge moved the ball over three plays and converted a fourth and inches en route to a 5-yard run by Alex Froelich. But, the Knights missed the extra point to remain behind 14-13.

Viewmont grabbed the onside kick and then sealed the victory on a 65-yard run by Tyler Anderson on the next play.

"We made many mistakes tonight including turnovers," said Northridge coach Erik Thompson. "Viewmont played a great game."

Fraughton finished the game with 115 rushing yards on 18 carries. Though the rushing yards were impressive, his two sacks and two hurries also made a big impact on the game's outcome.

The Vikings tallied a season-high 288 rushing yards and only threw the ball five times in the game.

"We wanted to throw, but things just didn't come together," said Gunter.

"Our offensive line did a great job blocking to keep us rushing.

"Starting off 1-0 in region is huge because each week we continue to hold our own destiny."

Northridge's Nate Ellis had 130 yards on 15 carries, while Acord passed for 188 yards.