A glance at the Week 2 matchup between Houston (0-2) and Salem (1-1):
ABOUT SALEM: Salem was unable to maintain a 20-8 third-quarter lead against Reeds Spring last week and lost 21-20 on a touchdown with 2:13 left in the game. …All-conference running back Zayne Kyser, who trimmed down from 240 pounds last year to 218 this year, had 26 rushes for 301 yards in Salem’s season-opening 34-12 win against Kirksville. …Houston has lost 33 straight matchups with Salem. Current coach Billy O’Neil was a player on the last HHS team to beat Salem. The Tigers beat Salem in O’Neil’s freshman, sophomore and junior seasons.
TIGER TIDBITS: Houston was called for 14 penalties totaling 119 yards against St. James. Nine of the penalties were in the second half, including two for targeting (helmet to helmet hits). …Senior Malachi Sawyer had a team-best 16 tackles last week. Kyle Wilson had five of the team’s 10 tackles for losses, highlighted by two sacks. Connor Clifton had nine tackles in his first career start. …O’Neil thanked the HHS students for their support the first two games. “The crowd was loud, and it really pumped up our players,” he said. “They can hear the support from the stands, and that’s big. I hope that we have that same sort of enthusiasm at Salem.”