A look at Friday’s matchup as the Cuba Wildcats (0-1) face the Houston Tigers (1-0):
TIGER TIDBITS: Houston has a chance to start 2-0 for the first time since 2008. That year the Tigers won their first three games, beating Cabool 12-0, Southern Boone 40-0 and Ava 27-25. Under the direction of coach Chris Edwards, HHS finished 6-5 – its last winning campaign. …Paydon Dixon’s 124-yard performance against Sarcoxie was his third-highest total since moving to running back in Week 4 of the 2017 season. It was only the second time in seven games he failed to score. …As the Tigers’ starter, Dixon has averaged 132.8 yards per game and 2.0 touchdowns.
ABOUT CUBA: Cuba runs mostly a spread offense with many five-receiver sets. Quarterback T.J. Bright (#12) threw the ball 41 times in the Wildcats’ 18-14 season-opening loss last week to Herculaneum. …Sophomore Alan O’Neil (#32) is Cuba’s top offensive threat. He will run the ball on jet sweeps and even direct snaps out of the backfield. …The Wildcats’ top playmaker on the perimeter is senior wideout Gavin Sparks (#6). Bright doesn’t hesitate to throw it up to him.
THE MATCHUP: HHS coach Eric Sloan, now in his fourth season with the Tigers and a previous head coach at Cabool, said he has never faced Cuba. …Houston and Cuba played six straight years from 2008 until 2013. The first four years were in district play before the team’s played a home-and-away in 2012 and ’13 before discontinuing the series. …HHS is 3-3 all-time versus Cuba with wins in 2008 (62-22), 2009 (28-6) and 2012 (6-0). The Wildcats won in 2010 (42-0), 2011 (16-13) and 2013 (32-24).
HHS PERSONNEL: Sophomore Nick Zamarron will dress out Friday after missing the opener due to not having participated in enough practices to be eligible. …Junior Devin Wallander, who missed the final five minutes of the season opener with a leg injury, will play Friday against Cuba. He was limited this week in practice. …Sophomore Sonny Crawford will miss the rest of the season with an apparent ACL injury.
NOTES FROM OPENER: Houston’s 2018 team captains are Dakota Burchett, Wallander, Dixon and CJ Lee. … Burchett’s rushing total in the season opener against Sarcoxie was hurt by two 5-yard kneel-downs when the Tigers lined up in victory formation to end the game. … Senior CJ Lee tied his career high with a 50-yard punt that just missed stopping at the goal line in Week 1.
HHS STAT LEADERS: A look at the Tigers’ statistical leaders after the opening game:
Rushing Att Yds Avg. Td Lg
Hutcheson 14 132 9.4 2 35
Dixon 20 124 6.2 0 22
Passing Comp Att Yds Avg Td Int
Burchett 1 6 15 15.0 0 0
Dixon 1 1 7 7.0 0 0
Receiving No Yds Td Avg Lg
CLee 1 15 0 15.0 15
Hutcheson 1 7 0 7.0 7
Kicking Pat Fg-a P Avg Lg
Lee 0 0/0 2 43.5 50
Scoring Td 2pt Fg Pat Tot
Hutcheson 2 0 0 0 12
Sawyer 1 0 0 0 6
Defense T Tfl S Ff Fr Int
Hutcheson 10 0 1 0 0 0
CLee 9 0 0 0 0 0
Burchett 7 1 0 0 0 2
CMitchell 6 0 0 0 0 0
Cichon 6 0 0 0 0 0
AROUND THE SCA: A look at last week’s conference scores and this week’s games:
Week 1 scores
Houston 18, Sarcoxie 0
Salem 24, St. James 20
Cabool 40, Doniphan 6
Hayti 46, Thayer 14
Buffalo 20, Ava 16
Strafford 50, Willow Springs 0
Fair Grove 34, Mountain Grove 0
Liberty 51, Richmond 19
Week 2 games
Cuba at Houston
Salem at Dexter
Chaffee at Cabool
Thayer at Doniphan
Ava at Hallsville
Marionville at Willow Springs
Strafford at Mountain Grove
Liberty at Bolivar