A new season brings enough excitement by itself. Throwing in Houston’s biggest rival has taken the season opener to another level.
The Tigers open the 2008 campaign Friday night when they travel to fourth-ranked Cabool. The game, which begins at 7 p.m., had recently been played in the final week of the season. But district realignments after the Bulldogs dropped to Class 1 have the two rivals squaring off the first week of the season.
“Playing Cabool in Week 1 brings some added focus to this game,” second-year Houston coach Chris Edwards said.
The teams headed in opposite directions in 2007. While Cabool easily won the district and upset undefeated Mountain Grove for an exciting sectional victory, the Tigers endured a second consecutive winless season.
But the Bulldogs lost many of the key pieces from their quarterfinal team. Houston returns most of its starters, including all of the team’s skill players.
“Coach McCrosky does a great job over there, so even though they lost quite a few players from last year’s team, they’re going to be ready to play,” Edwards said.
Houston will debut its no-huddle offense for the first time in a game that counts. Edwards implemented the scheme to his spread offense during the offseason, and the players think it will factor in their favor.
“I think we’ll be able to run other teams down conditioning wise,” said returning running back Justin Schmidt.
The offense’s tempo has dramatically increased with the no-huddle. Edwards said they can run close to 50 plays in 20 minutes. Last year, it was 25.
“The hardest thing is getting people on the same page as far as signals and responsibilities,” Edwards said. “They have to get used to their eyes coming right to the sidelines when they’re tired.”
Edwards expects Cabool to bring pressure in the face of quarterback David Weybright with its 3-3 defense. It should be an early test for the Tigers’ offensive line, including new center Bob Campbell.
The Tigers will counter with short passes, and Edwards hopes yardage on the ground. Last year, Houston managed just 2.8 yards per carry and relied mostly on its passing game.
“We want to be able to run it more,” Edwards said. “Even though we’re a spread offense, winning teams have to run the football. That’s the truth of football from the beginning of the game to now. Spreading the field should give us some lanes to run it.”
There’s no secret to Cabool’s offensive game plan. The Bulldogs pounded out more than 300 yards per game on the ground last season. Although all-state running back Ryan Smith is gone, Joe McCarty returns at fullback after gaining 600 yards last year.
Sophomore Donovan Baker, who qualified for state in the 100 meters, and Lucas Dotson give the Bulldogs speedy options in the backfield. They’ll run behind an offensive line that returns two all-conference selections – center Sean McDonald and guard Trent Sears.
“They are going to try to get the edge against us, and they also use a lot of misdirection,” Edwards said. “We’re going to have to be able to stop their speed kids from getting the edge against us and be able to play smart on the backside. If we over-pursue or don’t play our responsibilities, we’ll give up too many big plays on the misdirection.”
It’s appropriate the rivals meet in the first week of the season this year. It will be the first game at Cabool’s newly renovated stadium.
Houston last beat Cabool 21-14 in 2005. The Bulldogs have returned the favor with 48-14 and 42-12 victories the past two seasons.
