TIOGA BULLDOGS
After a successful visit to the Dragons’ lair in Chico, the 4-3 Tioga Bulldogs return home to face the 5-2 Alvord Bulldogs to decide which team is the district’s top dog.
Alvord opened district play by defeating Olney 59-0 but come into Bulldog Stadium licking its wounds and hungry for a win after being dismantled by the No. 6 Muenster Hornets, 56-7, in Week 8.
“They’re in Year 2 of the scheme that Coach [Matt] Fanning has installed over there, and they’re good at what they do," said Zach Birdwell, Tioga athletic director and head football coach. "They're big, and they’re going to be physical, so, first and foremost, we’re going to have to stop the run. … We have to go out and continue to take our next steps and be efficient and take care of the football.”
Alvord's physical brand of offense is spearheaded by running back duo Cutter Hamilton and Kamper Barnes, who lead the team in rushing, followed by freshman quarterback Max Prcin, who threw for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns in Alvord’s district opener.
Over their last four contests, Alvord’s offense has averaged 45 points per game, and Birdwell emphasized limiting Alvord’s rushing attack will be key for the Bulldogs' defense.
“They run the same couple of schemes, but they’re going to run them out of a lot of different looks, so the first thing we have to do is make sure we are lined up correctly and that we aren’t outnumbered before the snap,” he said. “After that, we need to read out keys and play our style of defense. We want to be the more physical team, and we want to play with a chip on our shoulder and play fast and fearless the entire night.”
On the other side of the ball, Alvord has seen a string of up-and-down performances from its defense, with the unit allowing Collinsville to score 62 points in Week 5, shutting out Olney in Week 7, and then allowing Muenster to strike paydirt eight times in Week 8.
Birdwell emphasized that Tioga still remembers last season’s 27-20 road loss to Alvord and is hoping the momentum from a win carries them through the rest of their district schedule.
“Last year we let them take the district championship from us, so we’re looking to come out on the right side of the scoreboard this Friday, but the message to our guys is focused on finishing, 7-3,” he said. “We checked box one the other night against Chico, so we want to go 3-0 in the next three and see where we sit in the playoff picture.”
Tioga and Alvord are set to kick off their contest at 7 p.m. Friday at Bulldog Stadium in Tioga.
File Photo
