By By Tim Cottrell
The Northview Chiefs will attempt to break a three-game losing skid and win their first district game of the season Friday night when they host the South Walton Seahawks.
Northview head coach Cody Keene said the Chiefs would have to eliminate many of the mistakes that have plagued them in their three losses to move to 1-0 in district play.
"We've got to score when we're in the red zone," Keene said. "This is a district game and South Walton is 1-0 in the district so we've got to defend our home turf. If we score when we have the opportunities and eliminate mistakes I think we'll be in good shape."
When asked is his team was ready to begin district play, Keene said the Chiefs couldn't afford to not be.
"I hope so," he said. "We'd better be. If we take care of us and take care of the things that we need to take care of things will work out."
An off week last week gave the Chief coaching staff the opportunity to scout South Walton at their matchup with Walton High School (a 53-25 loss). Keene said a few areas were a concern.
"Their tailback is a very good runner," Keene said. "We scouted them last week, and number 10 is a very good player. Their quarterback is a good athlete. They play tough on defense. They scored 25 points on Walton, and that concerns me a bit. The biggest thing is they're 1-0 in the district. We've got to man up and play."
Keene then addressed his injury and quarterback situations.
"Everybody should be 100 percent," he said. "Nakita (Myles) is fine. Thomas Wolfe played two weeks ago, and he should be better. Jordan Cook should be ready to play for us. We're going to start Courtney (Whatley) at quarterback, but we're probably going to play both of them."
Keene summed up what his team need to do in just a few words.
"We've got to play well, we've got to tackle well, and we've got to score when we're in the red zone," he said. "We haven't done that the last few weeks, and if we do that this week we'll be in a position to win."
A win Friday night would virtually assure the Chiefs of a spot in the FHSAA playoffs after an 0-7 season, and a win two weeks later against Baker would give the Chiefs home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. The Chiefs will welcome the Seahawks to Bratt Friday evening at 7:30 p.m.