The Bryan Vikings watchword this week was not celebration. It was preparation.

"I challenged them on some things," Bryan coach Bob Bellard said of his Monday session with his team. "This is the situation: You've got a great football team coming in. If you want to have an opportunity to win, you're going to have to execute better and focus better. I just laid it out there. I don't think I shamed them but just said that last week we didn't play our 'A' game."

Bryan coach Bob Bellard was unhappy with the level of play in a 34-14 loss to Belton, played at the same time that DeSoto -- the Vikings' bi-district opponent Friday -- lost a 41-40 contest against Tyler John Tyler.

"We'd played two plays pretty good and then didn't play the third play worth a flip," Bellard said. "You've got to be consistent against good football teams."

The Vikings will need everything they have against one of the state's best offensive teams Friday at Waco ISD Stadium. DeSoto, which is led by prolific junior quarterback Ryan Polite, is averaging 557.5 yards of offense per game and has scored 40 points in all but two contests. Polite, running and throwing behind a line that includes LSU commit Evan Washington, is personally averaging 367.6 yards per contest.

His top receiver, Darius Terrell (68 receptions, 997 yards, 10 touchdowns), is committed to Texas. The stats are impressive for a DeSoto team whose loss dropped the Eagles out of the final Associated Press Top 10 poll.

"I told [the Vikings] that when it really gets down to it, [the Eagles] are still 16- and 17-year-olds," Bellard said, smiling. "They are all your age. They don't get 24-year-olds. Just because they are good, they are still young men, just like you are.

"The ballgame is not going to start off with a deficit. They won't have any yards or any touchdown passes. They have to earn them. Our job is to make sure they earn everything they get."

The only other loss for DeSoto was to top-ranked and unbeaten Cedar Hill, 44-41, in the season opener. Bellard wonders if DeSoto has a weakness, perhaps on one special team.

"We sort of scratched our head wondering [if] they punted," Bellard said, laughing. "We've only got four [game] films. I don't know that we've seen them punt."

It's easy to scout Bryan's offense. The Vikings' outstanding running game has a chance to deny DeSoto some time of possession.

The Eagles had a low-scoring game against another run-based option team, taking a 13-10 victory over Richardson Berkner. In that game, Berkner's offense rushed for 214 yards and passed for 101, but a kickoff return for a touchdown by Marcus Murphy gave DeSoto the points it needed to hold on. Murphy has rushed for 1,266 yards and 17 touchdowns along with 524 receiving yards and seven scores.

"Berkner is in the top seven or eight total defenses in the Metroplex," Bellard said. "Our deal is that we are going to have be alert, focused and make the most of every possession. Every time they have the football, you've got to challenge every play they make. If you challenge every play, then if they falter, you've got a chance for a turnover, a chance to make a game-changer. Offensively, we've got to find way to go get it in the end zone."

Bryan has been able to do that this year. Even in a 5-5 season, the Vikings have averaged more than 32 points per game and had District 12-5A's leading rusher, Nathan Jones. Jones has 1,439 yards, averages 8.5 yards per carry and has scored 20 touchdowns.

District defenses held fullback Chris Watson (710 yards) in check in recent weeks. But when Watson finds room to operate, Bryan's offense flourishes.

"People say you can just hold possession, but that's not enough," Bellard said. "They are going to score points. They have every ballgame. If you score fast, that's still pretty good, but you have to make the most of your possessions and score. It would be nice to go 15 or 20 plays and look up and they've had three possessions the first half.

"[DeSoto is] good on defense and will make some big plays. [We] are probably going to need to make some big plays."

BRYAN FOOTBALL

* Friday's game: Bryan (5-5) vs. DeSoto (8-2), Class 5A Division I bi-district round, 7:30 p.m. at Waco ISD Stadium

* Radio: KZNE, 1150 AM