The South Tahoe freshman football team defended its home field for the last time Thursday night under the lights of the Viking Bowl as they beat Sparks High School 54-32.

Gunslinger Tommy Cefalu led the charge at quarterback as he threw for three touchdowns and ran for another while racking up 250 yards passing.

South Tahoe wide receivers Jake Miller and Ridge Merkley spread the Sparks’ defense out as Cefalu dissected Sparks’ secondary. Miller finished with two touchdowns and more than 150 yards receiving. Running back/slot receiver Danny Carranza also took a Cefalu pass into the end zone.

Running back Dylan Gooding scored a touchdown on the ground.

Jacob Bernal continued his successful season as he took a handoff from his own 25, followed blockers Andrew Herrera and Max Schweitzer off tackle and sprinted full speed down the sideline to the end zone.

South Tahoe scored a touchdown on almost every possession in the first half while the defense forced three fumbles and intercepted the ball once as the Vikings went into halftime up 46-20.

South Tahoe took its foot off the gas pedal in the second half, and Sage Wright, Jacob Guerrero and Noah Sorenson stepped in for the Vikings in front of a large and boisterous home crowd.

The defense didn’t skip a beat as Diego Rogers and cornerback/punt returner Noah Jackson continued to shut down the passing game with physical press coverage while safeties Tyler Ritter and Anthony Ramos changed positions and aggressively blitzed up the middle and off the edge.

UP NEXT: South Tahoe (5-1) will play its last two games on the road. The boys travel to Elko to face an undefeated Spring Creek (6-0) Wednesday, and finish their season on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. in Truckee.