Block 1 win away from district championship
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, November 5, 2013
JONESVILLE — The only thing standing in the way of a district title for Block High School is LaSalle High School, which the Bears will take on Thursday.
Yes, Block will play on a Thursday night for the second week in a row, but head coach Benny Vault Jr. said the timing doesn’t matter to him.
“I’ll play any day,” Vault said. “I’ll play on Monday if we have to.”
Last week’s game at Montgomery was scheduled for last Thursday because of a festival going on the next day. The Bears also played Peabody on Saturday, Sept. 28.
“We just wanted to play on a Thursday (this week),” Vault said. “Maybe it’ll give us an opportunity to see another game (Friday).”
LaSalle (8-1, 3-1) has a quarterback, running back and linebacker tandem that should prove to be a formidable challenge for the Bears (4-5, 4-0), Vault said.
“Their quarterback has 1,800 yards passing, and they have a 1,000-yard rusher,” Vault said. “We haven’t played anyone with those kinds of numbers, and those two and their linebacker are probably better than anyone we’ve seen this year.”
After starting the season on a 0-5 skid, Vault said winning a district title would be special for his palyers.
“We’ve missed so many other goals at the beginning of the season,” Vault said. “We always set goals to be 10-0 and beat certain teams, but one of our goals is always to win district, get to the playoffs and win a state championship.”
Vault described his players as focused this week, and he said he’s impressed with how his team continues to improve week-to-week. A lot of freshmen have impressed Vault, he said, and the tough non-district schedule made a difference in developing his team for later in the season.
“It always makes a difference,” he said. “It teaches my kids how to play four quarters. I don’t schedule (tough teams) because of power points, I schedule them to show our guys how to play for four quarters come district and playoff time.”
With the game on the road, Vault said he’s looking forward to the challenge of winning district on an opponent’s field.
“I like to travel, and I think my kids like it,” Vault said. “It’s always pretty good to beat someone at their home — you feel that much better about it.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Thursday at LaSalle.