Last week as Vance County High School prepared for Riverside, Coach Aaron Elliott commented his team had not had a great week of practice, and last Friday Vance County was handed its first loss against a powerful Riverside team by the score of 42-13. Not only was it the Vipers’ first defeat of the season, they also lost starting quarterback Nazir Garrett to a concussion. Now the Vipers will have to hit the road to take on Northern Durham which is coming off of a double overtime win at Franklinton.
Without their starting quarterback and a banged up team, Friday night’s game will be a challenge. “We have to be ready to play four quarters,” Coach Elliott said on SportsTalk on WIZS Thursday. “I asked the guys a question after the game. I asked if they know how important practice is during the week,” Elliott continued. After getting an answer in the affirmative, Elliott said practice this week was much better.
While praising the team’s defense and their ability to stop the run against Riverside, Coach Elliott was surprised at how much they threw the ball. Northern Durham is another team that does both well, and with the offense hobbled not having Garrett in the lineup, it will put more pressure on the Viper defense to step up. With the injury bug hitting the Vipers it will also mean there are opportunities for back up players to make an impact.
The Vipers and the Knights kick off Friday night at 7pm at Durham County Stadium. Airtime is 6:50pm on WIZS Radio 1450 AM / 100.1 FM / via live internet stream at https://player.listenlive.co/53101.
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