PALMER — The Smith Vocational football coaching staff finished its post-game speeches when senior Darron Mayhew felt he had something to say to his teammates.
“We are a band of brothers and we will stick together like family,” Mayhew said. “We need to put our mistakes behind us and keep focusing on the next play.”
It hasn’t been easy for Smith Voke, which remained winless following a 37-8 loss to Palmer Friday night at Legion Field.
The Vikings, who are riddled with injuries, just didn’t have the numbers nor the speed to contain the Panthers’ shifty runners.
“The kids are staying positive,” first-year coach Tony Capua said. “We never gave up, played with a lot of grit and the kids got better.”
Palmer quarterback Ryan McCarthy was a bit too much for the Vikings.
The senior ran for three touchdowns and 102 yards. He scored on runs of 53, 14 and 8 yards during the first half to provide Palmer (6-0, 3-0 Tri-County) with a 30-0 lead.
Good field position helped the Panthers, who had three of their first four drives start at midfield. Others came deep inside Smith Voke territory when the Vikings tried to make something happen on fourth down.
“We took some chances against a very good Palmer team,” Capua said. “I wanted to use tonight to eliminate mistakes and continue to grow as a football team.”
Smith just did not have the depth to overcome its injuries and could not get going offensively.
The Vikings fielded a team of just 16 players, but they continued to play hard under difficult circumstances and Mayhew let his teammates know they are not in this alone.
The Vikings (0-5, 0-2 Tri-County) will look to get healthy as they make a bid to get over the hump during the closing stretch of the season.
Palmer coach Pete Farr showed good sportsmanship by putting his second team in prior to halftime.
One bright spot for the Vikings was Jacob Erali. He threw a touchdown pass and foiled a Palmer drive with an interception.
“We’re going to power through each week and power through this,” Erali said. “We’re going to get better.”
Erali broke at least six tackles on a 24-yard run to set up the Vikings lone score in the final quarter. It came when he connected with Drew Brida on a 15-yard pass before he ran for the 2-point conversion.