NORMAL — Danville football head coach Marcus Forrest knew the assignment for this season started last season.
“It is a task that I knew last November that we would be working hard and we knew we would be young and inexperienced,” Forrest said. “When you are inexperienced and even your seniors are a little inexperienced, it it s a learning process for everyone.”
The process continued on Friday, when the Vikings traveled to Normal West and lost 49-6.
The game was almost like Danville’s opener against Bloomington as the Wildcats took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never let go.
“They are a team that used different motions that could confuse you, but it was just like the first two games,” Forrest said. “If we play together hard and don’t play passive, we have positive results. We have to have more positive than negative and that’s the tough part of building a young team. We are building them to have confidence in each other and we have to build up confidence in them so they can get each other’s backs.”
The only difference from the Bloomington game was that the Vikings scored earlier as senior quarterback Aiden Henderson hit sophomore running back Jamen Smith for a 37-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to cut the score to 21-6.
“He was able to make a catch and do something that we practice all the time and he extended it out. Aiden got the ball out and Jamen was able to make a kid miss and get a touchdown,” Forrest said. “We have a lot of young running backs that are good and talented and they have strengths and weakness and it is about how we use them. He took advantage of that opportunity and was banged up after that, but he was able to get one. Amilian (Beasley) ran hard and they brought pressure and Rail Hibbler made tough runs. Jamen showed what he could do when he gets out in space. We are looking to make it more consistent.”
Forrest said that while the Wildcats did have experience on their side, the Vikings have had experience facing teams like this already.
“They didn’t do anything that wasn’t any different than what we planned for and they didn’t play harder than Urbana or Bloomington,” Forrest said. “it is a normal Big 12 football team but it was a different environment, it is not about what you see, it it is about believing in yourself and that is what we are working toward.
“Once they get that belief, we are going to be good. But you have to go through the fire to get to where you want to be. I rather that you go through the fire and learn and grow in that fire. The sooner we get it, the sooner it builds for the future. The coaches and I will be around for the long run to get ready for that future.”
Friday’s game was the first of two straight games on the road and the Vikings had to deal with a tough Normal West homecoming crowd.
“It was a little different energy from the Bloomington game. They would have people that would yell out the kids’ numbers,” Forrest said. “Things like that is different but it is a good learning experience for them. It is tough, but you have to fight through it. We had some fighting moments and some that are not as good. As long as we keep going through these, it will continue to make us better.”
The Vikings are 1-2 and 1-2 in the Big 12 Conference and will try to even their record on Friday against Champaign Centennial. The Chargers are 2-1 and are coming off a 46-0 win over Peoria Richwoods.
“There are a team that has gotten us three of the last four years,” Forrest said. “They are a tough team, a physical team and they run downhill hard, just like every team in the Big 12. They have athletes that can make plays and they fly to the ball and it will be another challenge for out kids in getting better at what we do. Any team from that area is a rivalry where we want to beat them and they want to beat is, so we have to be prepared for a new challenge. We are going through this process and I told them we are 1-2 and we can make it 2-2 if we are confident.”