Ryan Ladika/MDN Wideout Zach Hendrickson celebrates after punching in the game-winning touchdown against Velva/Garrison Oct. 30.

The Bishop Ryan Lions made quite a statement with their latest postseason win, a 26-20 triple-overtime battle with the Velva/Garrison Aggies in the State 11B Quarterfinals Oct. 30 that exited regulation tied at six.

Ryan has spent the week preparing for its next challenge in the Nov. 6 semifinals, a Hillsboro-Central Valley team that is riding an active 10-game win streak. The Minot Daily News reached out to Lions head coach Roger Coleman to reflect on the quarterfinal victory and what lies ahead for Ryan with a Burros squad that the Lions have never met.

MDN: What did the team do so well on the defensive side of the ball against the Aggies to keep them at six points through regulation?

Coleman: I think we just got back to playing disciplined football. Our first drive, we gave up the touchdown there on a long, sustained drive. Too many four- or five-yard carries that we allowed, so just getting back to the basic fundamentals of our defensive scheme and tackling much better after that first drive.

MDN: Where did the offensive struggles originate during regulation?

Coleman: Velva’s a good defensive team; we knew it was going to be a tight-contested battle, and probably a defensive battle as well. I just give credit to their defense. We dropped some passes, probably more than we have all year, but they’re a good defensive team. They’re always tough to score on so I give them the credit for keeping us at zero for as long as they did.

MDN: What have you noticed that win do for the team’s confidence throughout the week since?

Coleman: Going into the semifinals, we’re a confident group. We have a big test and a big battle in Hillsboro coming up this week. I’d say we’re confident that we can get it done, whether it’s a low-scoring game or a high-scoring game, or it ends up going to overtime.”

MDN: Hillsboro is on quite a run, what are you working on with the team to prepare them for this weekend?

Coleman: They’re a huge team. We have to be physical to match them. They have just about as many seniors on their roster as we have total kids on our roster, and their roster is almost twice as big as ours. Really, we just have to be ready for a physical battle and have to play as physical as we can to match their size on the field, as well as just in their overall roster, being able to rotate guys, and play fresher guys, probably, than us. Stamina might be a key as well, so we want to play as hard and as fast and physical as we can for as long as we can.

MDN: What do you know about Hillsboro’s program this year?

Coleman: They’re very successful. Two years ago, they ran the table all the way up through AA, and they have since re-aligned some teams and they ended up coming back down into our league. They’re a big, physical team that likes to run the ball with a lot of guys who can help them out. We’re going to do the best job we can to stop the run game and force them to be one-dimensional.

MDN: This will be the first road game of the postseason for you guys as well, does that change your preparation?

Coleman: Not really. We’re going to take a bus ride and have to leave early in the morning on Saturday, but other than that, our week is exactly the same. Instead of coming in and meeting a few hours before the game, we’re just going to have to get on the bus a lot earlier for four hours. It really doesn’t change our preparation.