It was a tough loss for Saugus last week, as they fell to West Ranch 17-14 after building a 14-point advantage at halftime.
The Centurions (6-2 overall, 2-1 in Foothill League) are frustrated, but they’ve been harnessing that anger in practice and plan to use it as a positive when they take on Valencia tonight.
“Our atmosphere throughout all of practice was to play with an edge,” said Saugus offensive lineman Nathan Tripp. “We wanted to come out to practice to play with intensity and all-out effort. Definitely using the frustration into tomorrow night.”
The Vikings (5-3, 3-0) meanwhile seem to have hit their stride, winning three consecutive league games by a comfortable margin.
The return of running back Jayvaun Wilson has certainly gotten the team fired up, adding yet another dynamic to the multidimensional Vikings offense.
“It’s been awesome, especially with the weapons we have in the backfield. Just adding another one to the arsenal,” said Vikings quarterback Davis Cop. “I think Jayvaun is very explosive and it’s just about getting him back into the groove and seeing how great of a player he really is and how great he can be.”
Cop will face a stingy Saugus defense that held West Ranch to its lowest scoring output all season.
The most points the Centurions have given up all season is 26, and that happened back in the second game of the season.
“Saugus is a very disciplined team. They are well coached and they always put together a very good game plan against us. We don’t expect tomorrow night to be any different,” Cop said. “They are not going to get out of position, we’re not going to catch them off guard sleeping somewhere in a bad position. We know that we’re going to have to execute really well to come out with the win.”
The Centurions offense will face a swarming Vikings defense, led by linebacker Ben Seymour. According to MaxPreps.com, Seymour has 20 tackles and 5.5 sacks in eight games this season.
“What we have seen in them on film is their strength in run defense,” Tripp said. “Their D-linemen and linebackers play hard and fast and get to the ball.”
While Valencia’s defense will do its best to shut down Saugus’ offense, Cop will do whatever it takes to make sure his offense is firing on all cylinders.
“We’re really going to need to take care of business and do our thing to come out on top,” Cop said. “Get out there on the field and show people for another week in a row what we’re really about and what Vikings football is.”
The game begins at 7 p.m. at Valencia High School.
