Niles Vikings gear up for historic Division Four State Championship at Ford Field

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The countdown is on for the Niles High School football team. The Vikings will play for their first state championship in school history in Detroit on Friday.

Niles held practice today on campus at Notre Dame. ABC57's Allison Hayes was there to talk with players and head coach Scot Shaw about the opportunity they have to make school history

The 12-1 Niles Vikings football team will take on the 12-1 Goodrich team in the Division Four State Championship game at Ford Field in Detroit.

"It's awesome for our kids." stated Scot Shaw, Niles Football Head Coach. "It's awesome for our school. Our community has really supported us throughout the year, but especially here in this playoff run. So, you know, we'd like to get it done for ourselves first, but everybody else as well."

"We like to get it done, and we like to come hit 'em in the mouth as hard as we can every play." said Dane Asmus, Niles Senior. "We've increased every single year, five and four my freshman year, and we've increased every single year, so it's been a lot."

"It's a blessing to be able to be on this team." said Max Rucker, Niles Sophomore. "It's so much fun. And I get to play with my brother and all his friends and all my friends, but you always grew up wanting to be on a team like this, and it's just, it's like, surreal that it's actually happening."

The team will practice on Thanksgiving morning at 9 a.m., then the players are let loose to enjoy the holiday with their families. The team will meet back up at 4 p.m. that same day before heading to Detroit at 5 p.m. as a team on Thanksgiving evening.

The Niles Vikings will be in Detroit, ready for their big matchup at 12:30 p.m. on Friday at Ford Field.