Vikings hoping to carry momentum of last season

Heather Cory

Senior tailbacks Kerwynn Williams, left, and Malcom Wilks give Valley a potentially efficient ground game as the Vikings fight for respect in the Northeast Division.

By Brent Hinckley (contact)

Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Valley first-year coach John Elwell has no doubts his Vikings can compete with the top teams in the Northeast Division — even after going 2-7 last year.

“We can match Las Vegas’ and Canyon Springs’ intensity and talent,” he said. “It’s a matter of executing our game plan on Friday nights. I wouldn’t trade any of my guys for any of theirs.”

Elwell, who was an assistant at Valley the last seven years, saw a glimpse of what he considers the Vikings’ potential when they shocked Las Vegas High 20-7 in the biggest upset of last season.

“Things are positive. We’ve had a good summer. There’s a lot of excitement. We’re building off the positives from last year,” Elwell said.

Valley ranked sixth out of the division’s seven teams in points scored last season with 165 points. Elwell hopes his dual running back attack of seniors Kerwynn Williams and Malcom Wilks will reverse the trend.

“We need to take care of the football. We had a lot of problems with that last year,” Elwell said.

Williams, who had 108 rushes for 549 yards and eight touchdowns in 2007, will get a bulk of the carries.

“Kerwynn’s dedicated himself to the program. He’s got good speed. He’s shifty and he’s gotten bigger,” Elwell said. “We couldn’t ask for a better guy.”

Williams had two touchdowns and 167 yards of offense in the victory against Las Vegas.

“I’m just going to play to the best of my ability,” Williams said. “Our success is going to depend on our whole team. Without lineman I couldn’t get anywhere. We’re all depending on each other.”

Williams will get help from Wilks, whom Elwell said is the power runner.

“With me and Kerwynn in the backfield, anything can happen,” Wilks said. “It’s a better system than we’ve had in the past and we’re going to put up some numbers.”

Defensively, the Vikings will be led by two junior linemen — nose guard Suki Wilks and defensive tackle Elias Sanchez.

“Suki is a good run stopper and pass rusher. He’s got good speed. We’re looking for a big year from Elias, who did a solid job last year,” Elwell said. “The defense will be physical and aggressive.”

Brent Hinckley is a reporter for the Home News. He can be reached at 990-2687 or brent.hinckley@hbcpub.com.