The NBCHS Vikings head into play Friday with a 2-1 record. The team will be looking to exact some revenge on Evan Hardy, the school who knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs last season. (Submitted photo/Mark Kotchorek)

By Martin Martinson

Countdown To Kickoff

NBCHS football team ready for weekend challenge ahead vs. Evan Hardy

Sep 27, 2019 | 9:00 AM

As the leaves continue to change colours and the cool autumn breeze rolls in, football season is in full swing in the Battlefords.

The North Battleford Comprehensive High School (NBCHS) Vikings senior football team head into action this weekend with a 2-1 record.

The Vikings will travel to Saskatoon Friday to play Evan Hardy, an opponent the school knows well as a divisional foe. NBCHS will be looking for a quick bounce back from their lone loss through the opening half of their schedule last week, at the hands of the Saskatoon Centennials.

Outside the single blip on the radar, however, the Vikings have been lights out so far this season. Through three games the team has outscored their opposition by a combined 63-38 margin.

The Vikings opened their season with a win against Tommy Douglas in Saskatoon, followed by a victory in their home-opener as well against Prince Albert Carlton.

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After winning the provincial title in 2017, last season was a bit of a rebuilding year for the Vikings. Finishing the year with a .500 record, the team left it all on the field, but fell to Saskatoon’s Evan Hardy in the playoffs in a city league semi-final matchup.

Head coach of the Vikings, Mike Humenny said expectations for this season are a bit higher.

“We’re expecting to compete for a Saskatoon city title and then beyond,” he said. “There is a lot of stuff to work towards to get there, but we have a lot of good returning guys this year that learned a lot last year and moving ahead I think we are in a pretty good position to keep building upon that every week.”

Humenny said that with the added experience comes confidence as well amongst the returning players. He said the growth of the veterans along with the infusion of new talent has led to a balanced and competitive team on both sides of the ball.

“We have a lot of guys on defence that played last year, so we have a number of returning starters,” Humenny said. “Defensively our guys are super aggressive and their pursuit of the football has been awesome. On offence we have two really good Grade 12 running backs that can take care of business on the ground, but we also have a quarterback and a wealth of receivers that we can go to the air if we have to,” he added.

Friday will be the team’s first time playing Evan Hardy since the playoffs last season.

Evan Hardy are 1-2 through their opening three games, but rolling as of late. The school is coming off a decisive 18-0 victory last week over Prince Albert’s St. Mary High School.

Following Friday’s game, the Vikings will return home to close out their regular season schedule with two games in front of the North Battleford crowd.

Oct. 4 NBCHS will play Saskatoon’s Marion Graham Collegiate, before wrapping up their season with a final game Oct. 10 against the defending 5A provincial champions, Saskatoon’s Bishop James Mahoney High School.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1