The Pam Pack saw its three-game winning streak snapped last Friday as it fell 41-7 to Coastal Conference rival Havelock, the No. 3 ranked 3-A team in the state.
Tonight, Washington (4-2, 2-1) will look to begin a new streak as it returns home for the first time in two weeks to host White Oak (1-6, 0-3) at 7 p.m.
Washington’s loss to Rams was its first Coastal Conference defeat of the season. The Pack heads into its Week 8 contest with the Vikings tied for second in the conference with D.H. Conley (5-2, 2-1).
White Oak is still searching for its first conference win of the season. The Vikings have had the misfortune of beginning conference play against Havelock (7-0, 3-0) and West Carteret (7-0, 3-0), who are both tied for first, before losing to D.H. Conley 45-14 its last time out.
Pam Pack coach Sport Sawyer said it will be nice for his team to come back home and play at J.G. “Choppy” Wagner Stadium.
“Our crowds this year I have been good and we are excited to be playing back in Washington,” Sawyer said.
In order to give that home crowd a win, Washington will have to have more production out of its run game.
“I want to see us run the ball a little bit better with Keane (Graham),” Sawyer said. “(Quarterback) Jimmy (Williams) has done a good job of running but I want to see if we can get our other backs more involved. Right now running-wise it’s been a lot of Jimmy, but I want to see our running game get going with some other guys.”
The running game will be a big factor for both teams. While Washington will look to move the ball down field with its mid-line option attack, the Vikings’ scheme is a little less traditional.
“They have two tight ends and two wings, then they put one of the wings in motion and they pitch the ball to him and then the quarterback blocks for him. It’s different,” Sawyer said. “(On film) we’ve only seen them throw about two or three times a game.”
With two teams looking to grind the ball up field, tonight’s game figures to be a physical one.
“We have to be able to stop the run,” Sawyer said. “If they’re only throwing the ball three times a game we have to go out and play physical, because if we are not physical it will cause problems for us.”
The Washington defense has played well this season, especially after it switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in early September. Once that move was made, the Pack did not allow a team to get over 14 points on them until it took on Havelock.
That defense will go head-to-head with a Vikings team that has had trouble putting points on the board. So far this year, White Oak has only scored over 15 points in a game once, and has been beaten 119-17 in its last three games.
On offense, Washington will face a 4-4 defense that is suited to slow down running backs.
“They’re going to have eight people around the box, but if we spread them out that should help our running game,” Sawyer said.