By SCOTT W. COLEMAN
Four Points News

Vandegrift at Harker Heights
Leo Buckley Stadium
Thursday, Sept. 15 – 7 p.m.

Practice is about getting better each day. It’s what the Vipers focused heavily on last week, and it paid off with a victory over Killeen last Friday night.

Still, Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders saw a number of things that need more improvement, and you can bet the Vipers will be focused in on those areas this week.

The Vipers have a short week of practice ahead of a road trip to Killeen to face Harker Heights on Thursday. But, that also provides an extra day on the other side of the final non-district game to help prepare for a Westlake team that is near the top of most polls.

For now, Sanders and the Vipers will be focused on getting another win, this time over the 2-1 Knights, who beat Elgin and McNeil before falling on the road at Waco last week.

The Knights rely heavily on their rushing attack, led by Jameel Hodges, who ran for 181 yards against McNeil. Much of that success is the result of an offensive line that prepared to lead the way for a ground-heavy game plan this season.

“This offensive line of ours is very aggressive, they have a lot of experience and they worked so hard in the offseason,” Knights coach Jerry Edwards told the Killeen Daily Herald last week.

However, the Knights were held to just 77 total rushing yards on 30 carries in last Friday’s 28-12 loss at Waco.

Vandegrift’s defense has been tough against the run in its first three games, especially so against teams that try to run between the tackles, and controlling the line of scrimmage and getting off the field on third down will be key points of focus for the Viper defense again this week.