Season opener sets stage for Vikings

By Chris Johnson

REPORTER

The North Boone Lady Vikings are only days away from the start of the 2016 winter sports season.

On Monday, Nov. 14 it all begins for the Big Northern combatant as Rockford Christian Life pays a courtside visit.

Then, it gets busy.

On Tuesday, Nov. 15 the Vikings set sail for Johnsburg. A return visit to face Christian Life waits for North Boone as does a Nov. 21 showdown with Scales Mound/River Ridge.

The match with the Wildcats is a non-conference clash for North Boone. It does give the Lady Vikings a chance to see where they stand as early play sets the table for the season.

The NUIC-Big Northern battle with the Scales Mound/River Ridge Wildcats precedes a second visit from the NUIC in the form of the Pearl City Lady Wolves, one day later, on Tuesday, Nov. 22.

Big Northern head-to-head conference play returns with a vengeance in December, as the Winnebago Indians pay a visit. Byron will be waiting on Dec. 6.

This year’s seniors at North Boone start game one of the sports season in a newer looking world of basketball. Eleven teams will be battling for one Big Northern Crown. The Big Northern West and Big Northern East are no longer in existence. In their places is the Big Northern.

North Boone will compete with teams from Rockford Lutheran, Genoa-Kingston, Rockford Christian, and Byron, along with Oregon, Mendota, Rock Falls, Stillman Valley, Winnebago, and Dixon.

The difficulty that is in place will assure that the survivor from this year’s Big Northern season will have a very good chance to make a long trip towards the State Basketball Championships in March. With eleven teams fighting for one title, there is a chance a share of a conference crown could be earned by a handful of programs.

A hot start by the North Boone Lady Vikings could help build the confidence towards the second half of the season and the Big Northern battles waiting.