Vikings get no rest against Gilmer

GAINESVILLE - You have to excuse the East Hall Vikings if they feel a little shell-shocked after the last two weeks.

They were run over, through, and around by Gainesville and North Hall in consecutive blow out losses. So at this point, coach Tim Marchman and his young Vikings would welcome anybody else to play.

Anybody except Gilmer County at this particular moment. The Bobcats (2-1, 2-1) are winners of two straight games and come into Valhalla Friday night as the surprise team in Region 7-AAA early in the season.

The game will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. and be aired on WDUN 550-AM beginning at 7 p.m. with The Tailgate Show.

Not exactly what Marchman had in mind.

"They're a good football team and they're playing real well right now. You would hope at some point you'd get a game you felt you could definitely win, but I don't think there is one in this region anymore," Marchman said.

Marchman said the Vikings (1-2, 1-2) are struggling on the basics that can make the difference between winning and losing.

"We actually did a pretty good job at times moving the ball last week (in a 57-21 loss to North Hall) but then would turn the ball over and have penalties and we're just not experienced enough or deep enough to have too many mistakes," Marchman said.

"Our rushing game is not very good right now because we're blocking as well as we need too. We had a lot of missed tackles on defense. But all of those things can be fixed with hard work and concentration."

One bright spot has been the play of sophomore quarterback Lee Coleman, who took over for the injured Jamie Evans in the Gainesville game. It's not known when Evans will be able to return.

"Lee has really been improving each week and did a nice job overall against North Hall.. he's still learning and making some mistakes but he's getting a lot of experience," Marchman said.

Despite being torched for 113 points the last two games, Marchman feels his defense has played well at times and should match up better against the Bobcats, who employ a simpler I-formation attack than the wing-T which has given the Vikings fits the last two weeks.

"It's different and attacks you at different areas but i think we'll be able to do some things against them we weren't able to do against Gainesville and North Hall," he said. "But those two teams have so much speed it's hard to match up anywhere with them."

A win for the Vikings would put them right back in the middle of the playoff race, especially since they've already faced the two big powerhouses in the region. The play West Hall at home next week and finish the year at Johnson.

"Getting a win against anyone right now would do us a world of good. But we need work hard to get it. That's what we're focusing on this week," Marchman said.