A pre-season tune-up may have been what the doctor ordered for the North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings senior football team.
Coming off of a loss in a high-scoring 43-36 game in Lloydminster to the host Lloydminster Comprehensive Barons a week earlier, the Vikings started off their Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate season on a winning note Friday afternoon with a 56-20 romp over the Evan Hardy Souls in Saskatoon.
“I was really happy with how physically the guys played on both sides of the ball,” Vikings head coach Mike Humenny said. “I thought we were a lot sharper on offence compared to how we played in Lloydminster, especially in the first half.
“I thought we would be a little bit more engaged earlier on defence, but once we got rolling we played really well. You have to give credit to Evan Hardy, as they have a number of high skilled players on offence that forced us to adjust to their speed early.”
Helping the Vikings out was a strong three-headed monster on offence with quarterback Damon Dutton, running back JT Lamb and all-around weapon Zach Wolfe.
“Damon’s awesome all the time back there, but I think that was probably his best game as a starter for us, as he was 15-for-18 passing for 289 yards and three touchdowns,” Humenny said.
“JT was a beast all game as he ran the ball 18 times for 188 yards and Damon did a number of different things for us all game, including lining up in the backfield a few times.”
While the Vikings offence did their thing, the defence also played their part in helping to slow down the Souls as the afternoon wore on.
“Kolby Heidt didn’t play for us last week in Lloydminster but he was all over the field making place on defence and special teams,” Humenny said.
“As the game wore on, Zack Weber became a monster for us. He was in their backfield all day long and just crushing guys.”
The Vikings will look to continue their success on the road this Friday at 4:30 p.m., as they’ll take on a Warman Wolverines side that will playing their first home game in the 12-man league after dominating the nine-man scene provincially.
“They were on the wrong end of a lopsided score against Bishop J Mahoney, but they are a team that will get better each week,” Humenny said. “Judging by the film we have on them, they are a well-coached team with a number of good athletes, especially on defence as they just fly around the field.
“We’re not planning to make any major adjustments for that game. As I’ve said before, our main focus is to get better with the fundamentals each week, and that’s what we will focus on during our three practices.”
