Sylvan Lake Lions bantam football team are on a three-game winning streak after defeating Rocky View Rage 68-0 on Saturday.
Lions defensive co-ordinator Dave Berg said it was a “good day” for the team, but refused to get carried away by the team’s recent strong showings.
Remaining focused and continuing to work hard and improve is key to keeping it up throughout the season, he said.
“We’ve won all of them so far, but that comes with a bit of an asterisk,” he said. “All of them have had very small numbers.”
The Lions’ strong numbers, he feels, have played a major role in their wins so far this season.
Right now there are more players than they’ve ever had during his time with the team.
“For the first time since I’ve been working with the team, we were able to field a starting offence and a starting defence, and not have to put anybody going both ways,” he said. “We’re pretty excited about the interest and the number of kids coming out.”
Having such strong involvement means the Lions have fewer players getting tired, which also results in fewer injuries, according to Berg. When injuries do occur, there is adequate coverage.
“Even with those injuries, we’ve got other guys that we can rotate in so we’re not always struggling.”
After Saturday’s performance against Rocky View, Berg feels that the Lions are better than they have been, but still have room to improve.
Weaker areas may become evident when they play certain teams this season.
“There was still some mistakes made,” he said. “Defensively, the tackling was pretty good, but there were a couple of missed tackles that should have been in there.”
Pass coverage is another area he feels needs work.
“There were also a couple of times where we were fortunate that the pass wasn’t on, because the receiver was open,” he said. “We’d like to just tighten up on some of those things.”
The Lions take on Strathmore at H.J. Cody Field Saturday at 2 p.m.