The Union Pines Vikings hit the road tonight for a nonconference football game against East Montgomery at 7:30 p.m. in Biscoe.

For head coach Ryan Riggan and his Vike squad (1-2), the contest offers a chance to not only rebound from a disappointing 44-0 loss last week to Cardinal Gibbons, but also climb back to the .500 mark on the season.

“We need to bounce back this week,” Riggan said. “Cardinal Gibbons was a great team but we have to put that behind us and move forward. We have a great opportunity in front of us — now we have to go out and take care of business.”

Out of the 1-A Yadkin Valley Conference, the East Montgomery Eagles enter the matchup with a record of 2-1.

After a 25-13 win over 1-A Elkin (0-3) to open the season, the Eagles lost 28-26 to 2-A Providence Grove (2-1). Then, last week East Montgomery picked up a forfeit win to 1-A KIPP Pride (0-3).

“This is a game we can win,” Riggan said, “but we must come out fast, start strong and then play very sound for the entire 48 minutes. Coach Timmons is doing a great job up there (at East Montgomery) and we have to play good football to get this thing done.

“That said, I think we have some good players and they will need to take care of business for us Friday night. We talk about winning and working for it and having the desire to be great and we give the guys a chance to tell each other what it means to them to win games and show people that we’re getting better.”

Riggan went on to defend his team’s desire to compete and win football games, which he says has been present since well before preseason and still remains strong.

“The guys did a ton of work in the offseason, so buying into our mission to all work as a unit to improve and build this football program isn’t something that’s too hard for most of them. The ones who were working their tails off in the summer are all in right now.”

According to Riggan, the Vikings had a solid week of practice leading into tonight’s tilt.

“We got a couple of guys healthy and we are making adjustments for a couple who are out this week. We seem really determined to bounce back from last week and I think we will.”

Returning to action for Union Pines after missing last week are two starters in senior linebacker/tight end Shakeem McRae and place kicker/outside linebacker Kyle Rakers. However, the Vikings will be without the services of junior Lamont Legrand. The junior defensive lineman left last week’s game due to a head injury, and according to Riggan is still suffering from concussion-like symptoms.

Union Pines saw East Montgomery back in the spring, at the Vikings NFL sanctioned High School Player Development (HSPD) camp.

“The Eagles are a running team,” Riggan said, “and have some backs that can really go. We just have to play sound defense, get off the field on third down and let the offense get some things going.

“They have a couple of really good kids playing for them, and they are a good and physical team who compete really well. Adam Galloway is an inside linebacker who is extremely tough and Juwhann Evans is a defensive lineman who can cause a lot of problems up front.

“So anytime you face guys who can be disruptive like that, you have to pay attention and keep them off balance.”

The Vike also benefitted from what Riggan described as “a good film session” on Labor Day in preparing for tonight’s gridiron battle.

“We watched film (from last week’s game) Monday since we were on vacation,” Riggan said, “and we got to see how close we are to doing some really good things. We make one block here or there or a tackle on the first attempt, and all of a sudden our offense is looking at some second-and-three-or-four situations, while our defense is forcing some three-and-outs.

“Since last Friday we have done a lot of things this week to reinforce great focus and we will continue to do so every day and every week moving forward. We have to play with a sense of urgency.”

Contact F.W. Manning at frankwm2@gmail.com