WEATHER: Friday, sunny with highs in the mid 80s. Light wind. Friday night, clear with lows in the upper 50s.
TIGER TIDBITS: Coach David Williams was admittedly disappointed when his roster was in the low 30s during two-a-days. But the beginning of school brought him several new players. As of Monday, there were 41 players on the varsity roster. “We’ve been willing to accept those kids that come out late because we want to try to build our numbers,” Williams said. “If they are willing to give it a try, we’re willing to let them. Some of those guys might be able to help us down the road. Of course, that’s what you want.” …Williams said Randy Barker, who is dealing with a hip flexor, will be the team’s starting punter if he is healthy. If not, senior Jacob Case will punt. Case will handle extra points, and junior Rodney Preheim will kick off. …Williams is concerned about his team’s kickoff coverage against speedy Cabool. He said although they practice special teams each day, they don’t do it at full speed due to the high risk of injury.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: Cabool returns four offensive starters: running backs Donovan Baker and Collin Beesler and linemen Ryan Tate and Nate Christeson. …Baker is back to full strength after tearing his hamstring during the track season. He averaged more than five yards per carry last season and scored three times. …Christeson is one of just four players on the Bulldogs’ roster over 200 pounds. He weighs 205. …Beesler is one of four returning starters on defense. He earned honorable mention all-conference honors last year with 50 tackles.
LAST YEAR: In his first game on the sidelines as head coach, Cabool’s Eric Sloan snuck out of Houston with a 20-19 victory in the 2009 season opener. The Bulldogs, who led by as many as 14 points, stuffed Houston’s two-point conversion attempt with 28 seconds remaining. Tigers quarterback Kyle Jones, who made his first varsity start, was 10-of-32 passing for 143 yards and two scores. He also ran for 44 yards on 12 carries. Cabool’s Lucas Dotson scored twice — a 50-yard swing pass and 9-yard rush. Houston out-gained the Bulldogs 287-217 and had nearly double as many first downs (13-7).