ROME, GA – The Berry College Vikings were defeated on Saturday by the Centre College Colonels by a final score of 48-6.
Centre quarterback Heath Haden put up huge numbers posting 255 passing yards, 28 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Compare that to Vikings quarterbacks Dale Jackson and Sandon Mims who combined for 160 yards, failing to get into the end zone.
The Vikings’ 217 yards of total offense was a season-high, and wide receiver Chris Lilly was a major part of that. Lilly, despite being double covered for much of the game, still had nine grabs for 124 yards, and finished the game with 236 all-purpose yards.
While the team’s record now stands at 0-5 (excluding the junior varsity win over LaGrange), the players can see improvements being made every week.
“We’re just taking one step forward every week. We don’t look at it as: ‘oh, we’re 1-4’, or, ‘oh, we lost last week.’ We come out every week coming to work and get better. We know that we have a lot to go, but I think Coach Masters said it best: you don’t look at the destination that you’re getting to, you look at the road you’re on,” Lilly said.
Helping pave that road is head coach Tony Kunczewski, who emphasized the importance of understanding that this season is going to be a process for improvement.
“We refuse to let them think that they’re [a losing team], and it’s our job as coaches to make sure that they understand that this isn’t going to happen overnight. We’re not going to abandon what type of team that we want to be because we’re looking to the future not just the present,” Kunczewski said.
The Vikings head to Hendrix College for another conference game on Oct. 19. They will return to Darlington School on Oct. 26 where they will take on Birmingham-Southern.
