The No. 2 Saints, who face off with No.1-ranked and reigning champion Sioux Falls (S.D.) on Saturday, said they were having fun in what has almost become their adopted hometown. But now, it's time to prepare for the championship.
“The main reason we came here was to play a football game,” said senior defensive end Phil Lenoue. “It's nice to get out here and get refocused, get ready to go and get down to business.”
“I thought today was great, it wasn't a real physical part of it in terms of hitting,” Van Diest said of practice.
“The mental part for us is going to be the key. (It will be about) preparation here for the next day and a half, right up until kickoff.”
The Saints were at least able to get in a good practice one day after rain swamped other fields in the city. Sioux Falls was forced to abandon its practice at Jim Carroll Stadium, where the game will be played, and instead went to a baseball complex that wasn't as soaked.
The balanced Cougars bring an offense and defense both ranked in the top 10 of NAIA and the Saints will have to concentrate hard on breaking through their tough lines.
“We just need to make plays, keep our defense off the field and keep getting first downs, moving those chains,” said junior wide receiver Travis Browne. “We need to get our running attack to work well and open up the passing attack.”
The Saints have had tremendous success running the ball against 3-4 defenses, a scheme Sioux Falls uses.
But, Van Diest said, it won't matter if the effort isn't there.
“Saturday, what's going to take place is two teams are going to have to play their best football,” he said. “There's really little room for error.”
With the two best teams in the country facing off, the game might come down to the smallest factors. Van Diest said that if the Saints can keep down their turnovers and use their top-ranked scoring defense to hold the Cougars, the Saints might be able to control the line of scrimmage and get opportunities to score.
“Our kicking game is going to be a real key for us,” Van Diest said. “It's been great all year and we hope and anticipate that it's going to be real successful this Saturday.”
Both teams are scheduled to practice Friday morning at Jim Carroll Stadium.
Saturday's game begins at 11 a.m. MST and will be broadcast on cable network CSTV.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)