Spring is the season of rebuilding for football. The Vikings, who ended their first winning season in half a decade last year, also lost their star quarterback and running back as well as leaders on defense. Months of rebuilding and training culminated last weekend in the Vikings’ annual spring scrimmage at Jesuit High School in Beaverton.
Spring is the season of rebuilding for football. The Vikings, who ended their first winning season in half a decade last year, also lost their star quarterback and running back as well as leaders on defense. Months of rebuilding and training culminated last weekend in the Vikings’ annual spring scrimmage at Jesuit High School in Beaverton.
“By far, [it was] the best spring bowl we’ve had here,” head coach Nigel Burton said. “One of the best I’ve ever seen in terms of where we left off in the fall—the amount of guys who needed to come in and take on big roles for us and the way they stepped up. I was really proud of the quarterbacks and running backs in particular. I felt like they got better every day.”
The day started with a youth camp and Viking alumni flag football game, but the highlight of the afternoon was the offense-defense scrimmage, where Viking fans got their first look at the 2012 Viking football squad in an actual game setting.
“We’ve been going at it the whole spring, and finally we got the chance to [play] in a game setting,” freshman defensive end Sadat Sulleyman said. “It was great competition.”
Sulleyman is one of the emerging stars on a defensive side that looks stronger every month. The Viking defense forced five turnovers during the game and won the two-hour match 44-24, using the game’s modified scoring system.
“I think they were very opportune,” Burton said. “That was the thing. They took advantage of opportunities. Tipped balls. And believe it or not, it’s the stuff we practice. We constantly practice tipped balls, fumble calls, stuff like that. And so I think it paid off for them.”
Part of the defense’s success could be attributed to the number of quarterbacks who were called up for the scrimmage. The Vikings, who are still looking for a replacement for senior quarterback Connor Kavanaugh, cycled quarterbacks for nearly every series. Burton complimented his quarterbacks after the game, but didn’t tip his head about the team’s selection.
“I feel great because, in the end, the thing you’re looking for is guys to step up, not for everybody else to retreat and one guy not to,” Burton said. “And so what happened was, a bunch of guys stepped up, and continue to make it hard for us to make a decision. And that’s exactly what we want.”
The day was infused with a sense of optimism. The Vikings packed the stands at Cronin Field and viewers spilled over onto the grass to watch the team show their stuff.
“We’re so happy because we’re coming off a winning season,” junior wide receiver AJ Powell said. “We’re not satisfied with 7-4. We want to go to the national championship. We want to win the Big Sky. We want to do all that and be number one in the state and number one in the nation.”
Powell said the team had a new sense of commitment after last year, and all the players were focused on what they were supposed to be doing during the offseason.
“We made a great transition from last fall to this spring because of the work they did over the winter,” Burton said. “We would have Saturdays where we would have 80 guys out on the field working. So what I told them is to make sure that same progression—that same commitment—continues through the summer.”
The spring game ends the Vikings’ football program for the quarter. The team will come back together in August to get ready for its 2012 campaign.
“It was a great spring and a lot of guys showed up,” senior quarterback Nick Green said. “We were out there all winter working hard, and we’re going to continue to work hard through the summer.”
