Vidalia has had a rough start to the year, but the young Viking team is still battling.

“They’re working hard and conditioning well,” head coach Jeff Hancock said. “They are picking up the new things we are putting in extremely well. Our guys are focused, and I think we’re ready to roll.”

It is homecoming week for the Vikings (0-3), and they will welcome Bolton (0-3), who is also struggling a bit early on.

“They like to spread it out and sling it around,” Hancock said of the Bears. “They’ve got a pretty good athlete at quarterback, and they like to have him tote the rock around a little bit. They’ve got good athletes at a lot of positions.”

Stopping the Bolton offense will be a challenge for a Vidalia defense that allowed 49 points to Ferriday last Friday and 503 total yards. But Hancock has a plan.

“As it is with any spread offense, if you can get their quarterback out of rhythm, then you disrupt what they are trying to do,” he said. “That will be our goal from the defensive standpoint.”

Offensively, the Vikings will look to improve upon an 83 total-yard output last week.

“Offensively, we’re just going to keep working the fundamentals and execution and get better at the little things,” Hancock said.

Bolton enters the game off a 34-7 loss against West Ouachita. The Bears have been outscored 55-7 in their last two games.

Homecoming is a new monster for Hancock, who is in his first season as head man at Vidalia.

“This is all new to me,” he said. “Homecoming is a whole different animal in high school. It has been a wild week for all the students. It is a little bit of a challenge to get your guys focused I think, no matter who you’re playing, but with homecoming, it is a different challenge. We’re a young team, and I think we’ve done a good job with combating that.”

Vidalia and Bolton are scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

The Vikings will be warming up at Cathedral High School before the game.