North Vermilion begins playoff push

The season couldn’t have started any worse for the North Vermilion Patriots. 

It lost its first three football games and four of its first five.

All it took to turn things around was district play. The Patriots finished district play with a four and one record.

Its 5-5 record to end the year was good enough to cement the Pats in the playoffs ranked number 20.

“The beginning of the season was rough,” North Vermilion Head Coach Tommy Byler said. “It was rough, but our kids persevered.”

They will be traveling to Loranger, La to take on the Loranger Wolves, who are ranked number 13 in the power rankings.

“They (Loranger) are a good quality football team,” Byler said. “They are very solid on both the offensive  and defensive side of the ball.” 

Byler also mentioned how similar they were to NV. He went on to mention that the defense is the best part of the team and the running game is its strongest part on offense.

One thing Coach Byler isn’t concerned about is the travel and playoff game atmosphere.

“Our kids are used to this. They expect to be playing in week 11,” Byler said. “They are treating this just like another week, which is what they need to do.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Loranger.

Andy Bullard

Sports Editor