Three weeks into the season, there is no need to hit the panic button says North Battleford Comprehensive High School senior football coach Jamie Sommerfeld after the Vikings fell to 0-2.
The Vikings suffered a 20-1 loss to Prince Albert St. Mary's in Prince Albert.
The Vikings' offence has failed to score a major in the first two games of the season, but some major injuries to starters and some good defensive opponents have been key factors in their lack of production.
The Vikings trailed just 6-1 at the half thanks to some strong defensive plays, but in the second half a blessing in disguise for P.A. was when their starting quarterback went down with an injury. St. Mary's went to a jumbo package offence with their second string QB and it was something the Vikings' defence had little previous experience with making it difficult to contain Prince Albert.
There are still some adjustments and improvements the coaching staff is looking to make as the season continues, but this week presents a great opportunity to start to build some momentum for the remainder of the season.
"This will be our second home game of the season and a win would obviously give us some big momentum heading into the middle part of the season," said Sommerfeld.
The Vikings' opponents Thursday at Beaver Lions Stadium will be the 1-1 Bedford Road Redmen. Despite having a win, the Redmen have been outscored 42-20 this season and the Vikings feel they should be able to generate some momentum with this game.
Sommerfeld explained there were some extreme positives from the game in Prince Albert as Kyle Booziak had a strong game, some younger players got a great opportunity to see some game action and the defence, especially in the first half, were flying around and making plays.
Sommerfeld was unsure if those players injured would be ready to play Thursday or if they would be held out of action for another week to fully recover, since every team makes the playoffs, which begin at the end of October.
