By By Tim Cottrell
The Northview Chiefs have made the 2004 season seem like a distant memory, jumping out to a 3-0 record and looking good in the process.
They will face their stiffest competition to date this week when they travel to Bonifay, Fla., to take on the Holmes County Blue Devils.
Northview head coach Cody Keene said that while there was plenty for his team to hang their hats on, there was also plenty of work still to do to build a contender for the playoffs.
"I'm real proud of my kids, but we didn't play real well last week (against Freeport in a 21-8 win)," Keene said. "They showed some character fighting back, but we made some mental mistakes that we can't make. But they played hard, and they played with character. But each week gets tougher."
Holmes County will be the best opponent the Chiefs have faced this season. They now stand at 2-1, with their only loss being a 28-21 loss to Marianna High School. They defeated Baker, one of Northview's district foes, last week by a score of 33-0; and defeated Freeport (Northview's opponent last week) 28-7 in a Jamboree game earlier this season.
"They're the best team we've played," Keene said. "They're a quality team. They've got good skill folks and good team speed. They're just a good football team. We've got to play mistake-free football and we have to execute."
Keene also said a better effort from his team would be needed to get the job done this weekend.
"We came from behind last week, and that's good," Keene said. "We stepped up and got it done even though we didn't play well. James Lewis had 17 tackles. We've still got a long way to go. I don't think we improved a lot in practice last week, but this week I think we will."
Keene did feel, however, that his team would match up well with the Blue Devils.
"Some match-ups I feel are pretty close," he said. "They've got better speed at the skill positions. Our defense is going to have to line up and be where they're supposed to be. They throw the ball a lot. We've got to play better, and we've got to be better execution-wise."
The Chiefs will face Holmes County Friday night in Bonifay at 7:30 p.m.