Dickinson Trinity football coach Randy Gordon said he's pleased with the progress made by his Titans.
Last week's 28-0 win at Valley City helped the team turn the corner, according to Gordon.
"The inexperience is becoming less and less," Gordon said. "They're maturing quite a bit. We want to improve enough so we can compete."
Trinity (1-1) is going to get all it can handle when No. 2-ranked Minot Ryan (2-0) comes to town for a Class AA, West Region matchup at 7 p.m. today at Whitney Stadium.
"It's a tough one to start out (conference play) with," Gordon said. "They're the most favored team in the West. They have a lot of returners. We hope to compete with them."
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Offensively, Minot Ryan is known for its use of the veer-option on a consistent basis. Gordon said his defense isn't a stranger to the option.
"We're an option team," Gordon said. "We see it a lot too. We do it out of a different setting and we're not bound by it as much as Minot Ryan. Our defense sees it every week in practice."
Though Gordon stated that his defense sees the option on a regular basis, he was quick to note that the Titans haven't faced a team that runs as well as Minot Ryan.
"We haven't come upon a team yet that runs it like Minot Ryan," Gordon said. "When a team runs it well, it takes a lot of discipline (to stop). It's an assignment-alignment kind of thing. It's a very good offense if teams run it well."
Trinity continues to rotate junior Brooks Thorson and sophomore Aaron Grinsteinner at quarterback. Meanwhile, the team is still without the services of running back Kyle Kudrna and wide receiver Marcus Sickler due to injury.
Along with Trinity and Ryan going at it, Beulah travels to Watford City to take on the defending Class AA champion. Watford City has had a disappointing start at 0-2 while Beulah is out to a 2-0 start.
"Watford City has to be getting kind of angry," Gordon said. "This will be a pretty good week. It's as big as they get. It'll be interesting to see how Beulah does."
