Having been eliminated from playoff consideration with a 20-0 loss to Dickinson last week, the best Williston can hope for out of tonight's football season-finale with the Minot Magicians is a boost of confidence as the team looks forward to the 2010 season.
Tonight's contest is set for 7 p.m., at Cutting Field.
"This group of kids just play," said Williston coach Todd Matthews following the loss at Dickinson. "They understand their limitations and play with pride."
Although a victory tonight would be a nice consolation prize for a Coyote team, whose season got away from them early on, there are plenty of factors working against Williston, entering tonight's game. First of all, senior Alex Hanson missed last week's game after suffering concussion in a game on Oct. 10 at Bismarck. His status for tonight's contest remains up in the air.
Even if Hanson is cleared to play, the Coyotes may be wise to use Marcus Fearing at quarterback. Fearing, a junior, still has one more year remaining in the Coyote program, which makes him the odds on favorite to be the starting quarterback next season. The more experience he can obtain this season, the better off Fearing will be next year.
Secondly, the Coyotes have not scored a point in 10 quarters, dating back to the Homecoming loss to Mandan earlier this month. In that span, Williston has been outscored 97-0.
Thirdly, Minot comes into tonight's game as the No. 5 ranked team in the state. The Coyotes have lost two games by a combined score of 93-0 to teams currently ranked in the state's top five.
The Magicians (5-3, 2-2) come into tonight's game off a 14-0 loss to Century. Minot's top running back Donte Smart suffered an ankle injury in the game and missed the second half. His status for tonight's game is also uncertain. Considering the Magicians are pretty much assured of the No. 3 seed out of the west in the Class AAA playoffs, Smart's role in this evening's contest may be minimal at best.
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