Sports

Column: Practice makes perfect

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 11:02 AM EDT

Coaches firmly believe that you play the way you practice.

The Niles varsity football team found out two weeks ago that this old adage is definitely true.

The Vikings were not putting enough effort into their practice sessions leading up to the season opener against Battle Creek Lakeview.

The result? A 24-9 loss to the Spartans.

So Niles went to work. The practice effort picked up and the team produced a 34-0 victory over Sturgis.

With proven results, the Vikings continued to practice hard and turned in another workman-like effort this past Friday night in a 40-29 win over previously undefeated Kalamazoo Central.

I hadn't seen the Vikings in a week. I did cover the season opener and thought there was a lot of work to be done.

Now, two weeks removed from that opening night loss, I could see that the effort is there and this is a team that could make some noise this season in the Big 16 Conference West Division.

While most people think the division title will come down to Lakeshore or St. Joseph, don't be surprised if Niles steps up and takes a bite out of one or both of those teams.

But it's going to take more hard work on the Vikings' behalf.

Niles cannot just show up on Friday night and expect to win. Teams that do that usually end up on the wrong end of the final score.

It takes hard work and dedication to win football games in high school. That work, as they have found out, leads to having a little fun on Friday night.

Niles had a lot of fun against Kalamazoo Central.

In talking to coach Dan Brawley after the game, he told me that the team wanted to run the ball right at the Maroon Giants.

The Vikings could have thrown it if they had wanted to. But the fact that they were able to dominate the line of scrimmage and pick up big chunks of yardage only reaffirmed how much the team wanted to "pound" the gall at the Giants.

There are bigger games down the road for Niles, including ones against the Lancers and the Bears.

To be successful against those teams the Vikings are going to have to continue to be physical up front and find some balance in their offense.

Niles was not afraid to throw the football on Friday night, in fact they did a couple of times in crucial situations and were successful.

Quarterback Andrew Brawley and receiver David Garner seem to have something going. They are becoming very comfortable with each other and that could spell problems for their opponents.

Don't expect Niles to "air it out" anytime soon because the Vikings have a potent ground game that features multiple backs that all bring something different to the table.

McCade Reese, Aaron Davis and Shawn Holland are the three backs that see the majority of the carries. Brawley can also tuck it and run effectively when the situation calls for it.

I am looking forward to seeing how this team progresses over the final six weeks of the season.

If they continue to dedicate themselves to working hard in practice and playing hard on Friday nights, I truly believe they are a playoff caliber football team.

It takes six wins to qualify for the post season in the Michigan and the Vikings still have four more steps to take before they can achieve that goal.

The next step will come on Friday night at Marshall.

The Redhawks picked up their first victory of the season last Friday night against Kalamazoo Loy Norrix and I am sure they are hungry to square their record at 2-2.

It would be nice to see a large crowd head east to Marshall and cheer the Vikings on to victory.

This is an improving football team that deserves your support.

Scott Novak is sports editor of Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com

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