Eagles preparing for Vanden

Vista del Lago's football team finds itself in a difficult spot. They're coming off a 50-48 loss to Division VI power Bradshaw Christian and at the same time are trying to focus on their next opponent, Division III power Vanden, who the Eagles defeated last year in the regular season, 28-24. Not only will Vanden be a tough opponent, but it's also Vista's first road game of the season. "Vanden is fast, physical and well-coached," Vista coach Kyle Landes said. "It should be a good game." If Vista is to have a chance against Vanden, their defense will have to play better than it did against Bradshaw Christian when they allowed the Pride seven touchdowns in eight possessions. Bradshaw Christian rushed for a staggering 410 yards and averaged 7.5 yards per carry. "They're a well-coached team that got after it," Landes said. "They put bodies on our defense and we couldn't get off their blocks." Year after year one of Vanden's top assets is their team speed. Their backs don't need the best block to hit the open holes so the Eagles will have to be quick off the block and to make sure they tackle as a team. Landes and the Eagles took the loss to Bradshaw Christian in stride, as they simply looked at the loss as good preparation for the postseason. "Afterwards we talked about how it's good to see as many different offenses as we can during the regular season to prepare us in the postseason," Landes said. "What we see in Bradshaw Christian will also help us in upcoming games against Woodcreek and Bella Vista." While the defense needs to improve, Vista's offense was electric and efficient against Bradshaw Christian, as it also scored on seven of eight possessions. The problem was the team had their first PAT blocked and then went for two points and the lead late in the third quarter instead of just kicking the game-tying extra point. The Eagles didn't convert and Bradshaw Christian scored again and made its two-point conversion to take a 43-34 lead. By the time the Eagles scored its last touchdown with 1:28 to play, it made the score 50-47 and a two-point conversion would not do them again good. Offensively, Grant Rogers completed 14-of-19 passes for 246 yards and two scores, while Jahaan Kalkat ran 15 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Navarre also ran for two scores. Matt Werpy caught five passes for 119 yards and one touchdown, while Willie Greene caught four passes for 80 yards and one touchdown.