Last season couldn’t have started much worse for the Houston football team. The campaign started with 36-14, 42-0 and 34-7 defeats.
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The Tigers made key personnel changes, hit their stride and finished strong. Among the final games were a win against Mountain Grove for the first time in 16 years and three conference victories for the first time in nearly a decade.
The conclusion was nice, but coach Eric Sloan doesn’t want to repeat the way the season played out.
“My goodness, if we could have started the year like we finished, there’s no telling what the season would have been like,” Sloan said. “We’d like to get that figured out from Game 1.”
It won’t be easy.
The Tigers hit the road Friday night for their season opener. They’ll travel 144 miles west to face a Sarcoxie team that went 9-2 in 2017 and features a big offensive line and triple option offense.
“It’s a very good test right out of the game to see where we’re at against a quality program,” Sloan said.
Houston added Sarcoxie to its schedule out of necessity.
Sloan said the Tigers were locked into a four-year contract with Ash Grove and were discussing the possibility to extend it to six years. Then the Pirates joined the newly-formed Southwest Conference and were forced in December to break the contract after just two years.
Houston had two teams available in the state to add to the schedule that late in the process, Sloan said: Caruthersville or Sarcoxie. HHS chose Sarcoxie, which dropped its matchup with an opponent not sanctioned by the Missouri State High School Activities Association to add Houston.
“It was just luck of the draw picking them up,” Sloan said.
Houston, which went 3-7 last year, added an opponent coming off one of its best seasons. Sarcoxie won its first eight games of 2017. The Bears faced a pair of South Central Association schools in district play, beating Cabool in the opener 45-22 before losing to eventual district champion Thayer 28-14.
Although Sarcoxie lost an all-region quarterback and lineman to graduation, the Bears have an experienced and beefy offensive line. The unit is led by Landon Malotte, a first team all-conference selection last year.
The big blockers and Bears’ triple option attack – led by senior Christian Garrison – will prove to be a challenge for the HHS defense.
“We have to be disciplined on defense,” Sloan said. “It’s scary because if we don’t do our jobs, we’re exposed and something can get out the back door. “
The Tigers will counter with a defensive unit that returns its top three tacklers from 2017 and added Liberty transfer Devin Wallander to its linebacker corps.
“We’ve got to be physical right out of the gate,” Sloan said. “The SCA prides itself on being physical. When we play teams outside of the conference, we usually get complimented on how physical we play. Hopefully that’s something we can bring to the table.”
The HHS offense, which was greatly improved in the latter past of last season after moving Paydon Dixon from quarterback to running back, struggled in last Friday’s jamboree against Cabool and Willow Springs. The Tigers failed to score and struggled to gain first downs.
But HHS was without Dixon and starting fullback Aiden Sawyer. Both are expected to play against Sarcoxie.
Having Dixon on the field is especially important. The senior rushed for 806 yards and 14 touchdowns in six games as the featured back. He has battled hip and hamstring problems in the preseason.
“It’s been a long time since he’s been at full speed,” Sloan said.
Houston will attempt to win its first season opener since beating Hollister in 2015 – the program’s first year under Sloan.
“It’s probably one of those nights we don’t want to start slow,” he said. “Hopefully we can drive over there, not have excuses and take care of business.”
The HHS-Sarcoxie football game will be streamed live and in high definition Friday night. The pregame show begins at 6:45 at www.houstonherald.com/live.