With a showdown against Griswold in the sites of St. Albert, the Falcons must first head to Tri-Center Next week's contest could go a long way of sorting out the District 1 playoff race, but St. Albert coach Jim Duggan said his team knows first the squad must perform this week.
"I think our kids realize that they can't look by anybody," Duggan said. "We've gone back to the old one game at a time and the kids have bought into that."
While the Falcons got back on the winning side with a 28-14 decision over Audubon last week, Tri-Center showed they're not a team that can be taken lightly.
The Trojans trailed 17-6 against Underwood, and rallied for two second-half touchdowns passes by quarterback Kurt Spomer to take a 20-6 in the last quarter before the Eagles pulled out a stunning late-second touchdown by Austin Jager to win the game.
"Tri-Center is getting better each week," Duggan said. "They've played better than what they're record indicates."
The sophomore Spomer runs the show for the Trojans on offense as he has completed 57 passes for nearly 900 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.
"He's very athletic," Duggan said. "He's their playmaker."
Tim Kramer is his favorite target as he's pulled in 29 receptions for over 500 yards and six touchdowns. Jacey Green has also scored three touchdowns for the Trojans.
"The films we watched on them they've shown the ability to make the big play," Duggan said of the Trojans. "And they play pretty tough defense."
St. Albert meanwhile rebounded from its first district loss since 2002 by topping Audubon last week. The Falcons wasted little time getting on the board with a pair of first-half touchdown runs by Jeremy Schieffer, including a 46-yard carry on the game's third play.
Quarterback Nolan Batten also had a big game last week, completing a pair of second-half touchdown passes, helping his team celebrate homecoming in style.
But the Falcons will enter this week's game down a few players due to injury and other circumstances.
"We're going to play some kids that normally don't get a lot of playing time on Friday night," Duggan said. "Hopefully they're rise to the occasion."
Between The Lines
Who: St. Albert (3-1, 3-3) vs., Tri-Center (1-3, 2-4).
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Neola.
What to watch for: Both teams enter play Friday after good week six showings. The Falcons recovered from their first district loss since 2002 with a 28-14 homecoming win over Audubon Friday.
Running back Jeremy Schieffer scored a pair of first-half touchdowns, including a 46-yard run on the third play of the game for St. Albert. Quarterback Nolan Batten fired two second-half touchdown strikes as the Falcons topped Audubon.
The Trojans enters the contest 2-4 on the season but gave Underwood all it could handle last week.
Tri-Center sophomore quarterback Kurt Spomer tossed a touchdown pass to Tim Kramer and another to Matt Schultz as the Trojans rallied from 17-6 deficit in the fourth quarter to take a 20-16 lead.
JEFF DELUCA, Staff Writer
10/13/2005