WINDSOR – Down two games in the conference, the area’s dean of football coaches knows he and his squad face an uphill battle.

Still, despite being 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the Northeastern Coastal Conference, Roy Bond and his Bertie Falcons haven’t given up on the 2003 campaign.

&uot;We can be a force, if we play the way we’re capable of,&uot; Bond asserted. &uot;It’s like this, we can either give two beatings or take two – we’ll just have to see how we play.&uot;

The Falcons, who started the conference season with back-to-back losses to Edenton and Manteo, rebounded last week to post victories over Currituck and Pasquotank to move to 2-2 in the league.

Bertie has just Manteo and archrival Hertford County remaining on their schedule for the 2003 season.

As surprising as it may sound, victories over those two opponents and a 5-5 overall record should be enough to propel the Falcons to postseason.

According to information from ihigh.com, to qualify for the playoffs a team must finish first or second in a split conference like the Northeastern Coastal to qualify for the playoffs.

Wins over Manteo and Hertford County would leave the Falcons 4-2 in the NCC, a mark that would at least equal Manteo’s mark as the Redskins already have one league loss.

&uot;We’re taking it one game at a time,&uot; Bond said. &uot;With two losses in the conference, the odds are against us.

&uot;All we can do is take care of business and hope that someone else takes care of business for us,&uot; he added.

Things begin Friday night when the Falcons host Manteo in what has become a key contest in the 3-A division of the NCC.

Bond said there are as many question marks about what Manteo will bring to Windsor Friday night.

Redskins senior running back C.J. Brooks missed Friday’s contest with Edenton in which the previously unbeaten Manteo team suffered a 15-0 defeat.

MHS skipper Walt Davis told the Outer Banks Sentinel he didn’t think Brooks’ absence caused the Redskins defeat, but Bond said it would make a difference in how the Falcons prepared for

Manteo – if he knew whether or not Brooks would play.

&uot;They’re hard to prepare for because we’re not sure which team is coming to Windsor,&uot; Bond said. &uot;If Brooks doesn’t come, I guess that would be a plus for us, but we don’t know whether he is making the trip or not.&uot;

Offensively, the coach said Bertie would continue to rely on their recent successes.

&uot;We have a very young team,&uot; Bond said. &uot;We’re building into a team and starting to play better. We’ll just have to do what we do best and hope we can stop the run.&uot;

The Falcons will see if they can keep their improbable run towards the post-season going at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night.