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Vikings trying to make playoffs berth

PETERSBURG — The 3-2 Petersburg Vikings, ranked No. 21 in Class AA, will take to the road to face 1-4 Berkeley Springs (AA) today for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

It’s not an absolute must-win situation for PHS, but running the table could keep the Vikings in contention for a playoff berth once the regular season is squared away.

“We had a good week of practice and it is a good factor for our momentum to be ranked at No. 21,” Petersburg coach Kevin Board said. “We think we should match up well at Berkeley with a similar spread approach on offense, and both teams will be looking to get athletes on the field. I think it should be a pretty good game.”

Board said the pass-to-run ratio on offense is not as close to a 50-50 balance as the Vikings had last year. He said sophomore quarterback Jacob Hartman has played well in the passing game, but said the team would do even better with a more established run game.

“I think a positive key for us can be to establish more of a solid running attack on Friday,” he said. “If we can get that going to keep the opponent on their toes, it can really open up even more for us offensively.”

Petersburg is beginning their first of three straight road games today, while looking to keep a clean sheet after facing Berkeley, Frankfort (2-4) and Class A No. 9 Moorefield (4-1). They will host Tucker (2-4) on Oct. 28, and finish their regular season slate in Baker against current Class A No. 1 East Hardy (5-0) on Nov. 4.

Board said linebacker play on defense has also been a key piece to the Vikings’ success so far this season.

“Both of our middle linebacker types in seniors Jordan Hartman and Branden Wratchford have been solid players by being our top two leading tacklers,” he said.

Board was also complimentary of 11th-grader Trad Harman, saying “Trad is like an un-sung hero for us. He has quietly made the most catches on offense for us, and is our third-leading tackle-maker on defense. He’s such a good leader, and a sure-fire guy we can go to. He has really stepped up well, and it’s also exciting that he’s only a junior for us this year.”

Board said the team shouldn’t look ahead to a possible playoff berth, but focus on improving and taking one step at a time. The Vikings have only reached the state playoffs one time in school history.

Kickoff against the BSHS Indians in Morgan County is slated for 7 p.m. today.

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