By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
After collecting their first win of the 2023 campaign in dominant fashion last week, the Sacred Heart football team (1-3) will be back on the road to face Valley Heights (3-1).
The Knights dominated Belle Plaine 40-0 last week in their first matchup against a fellow 1A school, and that win has put a pep back in the step of Sacred Heart.
“It feels great, Knights head coach Norm Jennings said. “We told the guys to hang in there until we could play some teams of similar size to us and we knew that when we did they were going to discover just how special they really were.”
While the defense has remained consistent all season for Sacred Heart, the offense exploded in week four, with Michael Matteucci, Evan Bogart, and a healthy Cam Cleveland leading the charge.
“I was really impressed with our offense,” Jennings said. “It’s one thing to see the talent but it’s another to watch them believe in it and play it out on the field. We’ve had good, long drives in our last few games and they understood that they were doing things right, they just needed to eliminate some of the errors.”
Now, the Knights will turn their attention to a Valley Heights squad with an intriguing resume, having fallen to #2 Centralia by just two points, before rattling off three big wins over struggling programs.
“We’re preparing for everyone the rest of the way like they are the district champions,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for Valley Heights and they have some new personnel and a very dangerous quarterback. You can tell their kids have been in the weight room and they’ve made improvements in a similar way to what we have. I think this will be a really tight game.”
Many expect this matchup to be more contested than the 27-6 cruise control win the Knights picked up over the Mustangs a season ago, and to pull off a second-straight win, Sacred Heart must be willing to match Height’s physicality.
“They’re willing to really just grind out the ball,” Jennings said. “They play tough, physical football and they don’t wear down. You can’t line up against them and expect them to get tired and make mistakes, they’ll keep pounding you all night if you let them.”
Meanwhile, to keep things rolling on offense, the Knights will need all of the confidence that they built last week to carry over into this week five bout.
“We just need to be ourselves, be confident in one another, and execute the game plan offensively,” Jennings said. “As long as we have faith in what we’re doing and get out of our penalty situation we’ll be okay.”
Kickoff between the Knights and Mustangs is scheduled for 7:00 and the game can be heard and viewed on the Salina Post with commentary provided by Adam Coulter HERE.