Head football coach Scott Harris wanted a battle to test his team to start off the 2011 season.
And a battle is what he got.
A power Salem Academy Crusaders made the seven-hour drive from Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 3 to play a non-league game against the Orcas Vikings. Although the Vikings did not come out with a win, there were many highlight moments for the boys in blue. There was also a lot to learn as offensive breakdowns left the defense in difficult situations early on in the game. The final score was 41-20.
“We could not run our schemes the way we wanted because of early trouble offensively,” Harris said. “The defense played well in the first part of the game while the offense struggled. That situation kind of flip-flopped as the game went on. As the offense began to make some plays, the defense lagged. We couldn’t get much rhythm because of the imbalance. That was certainly attributable to a very good team from Salem but we as coaches also need to do a better job. That being said, I am very proud of how the older guys stepped up and improved as the game went on while the underclassmen got some valuable playing time.”
An early injury to one of the starters opened a spot on both sides of the ball.
“I kind of threw the young guys to the wolves to see how they handled the pressure and I was impressed with their performance,” Harris said. “Jay Zier recovered a fumble that lead to a touch down drive, Joey Susol played huge minutes for us and performed as well as any freshman we have had for a long time. Demitri Pence and Gage Harlow also contributed, making the most of their opportunities. Dimitri had a 23-yard kickoff return that really impressed me.”
Freshman linebacker Joey Susol said he thought they did “pretty well against a big school like that.”
“I’m hoping to get playing time against Friday Harbor,” he said. “It was my first varsity game and my first game ever playing linebacker. It was exciting!”
Three seniors had good days for the Viking offense. Quarterback Robbie Padbury had was 10-21 for 118 yards passing and scored a rushing touchdown. Aubrey Schermerhorn had six carries for 43 yards and one touch down. Wide Receiver Keenan Phalan had eight receptions for 131 yards and one touchdown. Junior Dan Briggs filled in for Padbury in the fourth quarter and led a drive that culminated in the 18-yard touchdown toss to Phalan, closing the gap to 34-20. Briggs ended his day with a respectable 6-10 passing and 74 total yards. The Crusaders finished the scoring with a late touchdown.
“We really have six guys who can carry the ball for us,” said Salem Academy head coach Jim Stomps. “We want to spread it around where hopefully the team can’t key in on one guy.”
Harris says the team will watch game tapes and prepare to defend the Island Cup on Sept. 10 at 1 p.m.
“This game will help us prepare for a very tough squad from Friday Harbor,” he said. “The Wolverines are coming to town with a chip on their shoulders after losing the cup last year in Friday Harbor. This game may define the character of our team and the season ahead. If we can stay healthy and execute our game plan this should be a very entertaining match up. The guys were thrilled at the early season fan support last week and expect to play in front of a very large and vocal crowd on both sidelines this week.”
