After a 0-2 start, the Aubrey Chaparrals return home to Chaparral Memorial Stadium still looking for their first win to battle the 2-0 Brock Eagles.
The Eagles enter this year’s contest flying high, with back-to-back wins to start their season—a 52-31 win over Decatur and a 67-7 rout of the Lake Worth Bullfrogs on Sept. 5.
“Obviously, they’re a phenomenal football team,” said Keith Ivy, Aubrey athletic director and head football coach. “Every guy on the field jumps off the screen on film. … We know what we’re up against—a well-coached bunch. They play hard and have a ton of athleticism all over the field, so we’re going to have to focus on the basics and be good at what we’re doing and, hopefully, get some breaks in there.”
Brock relied on their offense to beat Aubrey 38-13 last season and enter this year’s contest already averaging over 500 yards of total offense and 60 points per game, led by District 3-4A Division II’s reigning utility player of the year, Colt Matlock.
“They can get in there and lean on and mash you as well as they can spread you all over the field and move the ball in space, so I think the biggest deal for us is just to prevent the big play, keeping everything in front of us,” Ivy said. “You’re going to give up things to them; everybody does, and that’s just part of them being a state championship caliber team year in and year out.”
Ivy added that the Chaps’ success at moving the ball on offense may be crucial in helping their defense slow down the Eagles’ attack.
“One of our best defenses is going to be our offense,” he said. “We have to be able to put some drives together and keep them off the field.”
In spite of the tall task ahead of them, Ivy said the Chaps are looking forward to returning to Chaparral Memorial Stadium.
“We’re always thankful to be at home,” he said. “It’s [Aubrey Area Youth Sports Association] night, so those kids get to come up there, and that’s a really big deal to them, but it’s a big deal for our players and coaches to be able to give back to our youth association. We’re looking forward to that number one, but number two, just playing at home is always special. We’ve had a lot of success at home over the years. This is our third nondistrict game out of four, and we want to be better than we’ve been the last two weeks, and I told them today, whatever the scoreboard says at the end of the game, it’s up there, but our main goal is to get better each week, and the wins will come.”
