The postseason has arrived. Here’s a look at Friday’s matchup as the Houston Tigers (5-4) hit the road to face the Strafford Indians (8-1):
FINESSE VS. PHYSICAL: The Houston football team plays a physical, ground-oriented style of play. Strafford prefers a spread out, pass-first approach. The two contradicting styles clash to open district play.
HHS will look to win its first game since the new MSHSAA district format began in 2012 on the road Friday night in the opening round of the Class 2 District 3 tournament. It’s a familiar foe as the sixth-seeded Tigers travel to No. 3 Strafford for the third time in the past four years under coach Eric Sloan.
The key to winning – Houston lost 35-27 last year and 46-20 in 2015 – appears to be a simple yet challenging one: find a way to slow the Indians’ impressive air attack.
Strafford is averaging a whopping 52.1 points per game, including twice scoring more than 70 points. The lone hiccup on the Indians’ resume was a last-minute 17-14 loss to Fair Grove, the district’s second seed. Strafford played two South Central Association programs to open the season and cruised to a 50-0 win against Willow Springs and 42-6 win over Mountain Grove.
Houston has struggled at times to slow passing teams, including last week when Liberty quarterback Jaris Acklin threw for 261 yards and five touchdowns and teammate Colter Foster had 11 receptions for 210 yards and four scores. Can the Tigers find a way to slow Strafford?
Quarterback Wyatt Maples has thrown for 2,087 yards with 34 touchdowns and six interceptions this season. His top target is Dillon Hester. The head coach’s son has 58 receptions for 1,208 yards and 16 scores. Teammate Mason Foley has 25 catches for 521 yards and nine touchdowns.
Can the Tigers’ pass rush create problems for Strafford? Can the secondary match up with Hester and Foley?
At the same time, will Strafford be able to slow Houston’s ground game that is averaging 4.8 yards per rush? Can the Tigers sustain drives? Control the clock? And counter with physical play against Strafford’s finesse?
REST OF THE DISTRICT: The top three teams in Class 2 District 3 finished with identical 8-1 records. And two teams – Fair Grove and Mountain Grove – moved up one spot due to head-to-head wins over the team ahead of them in the standings.
Here are the final district standings:
1. Ava 8-1 47.24
2.*Fair Grove 8-1 44.46
3. Strafford 8-1 45.47
4. Liberty 6-3 39.96
5. *Mountain Grove 5-4 32.29
6. Houston 5-4 33.67
7. Willow Springs 1-8 19.07
8. Forsyth 0-9 16.51
*Moved up one spot due to head-to-head regular-season victory
Here’s a look at Friday’s first-round games:
(8) Forsyth at (1) Ava
(7) Willow Springs at (2) Fair Grove
(6) Houston at (3) Strafford
(5) Mountain Grove at (4) Liberty
CLOSE TO 1,000: Sophomore Daniel Hutcheson is closing in on a 1,000-yard campaign. He enters district play with 103 carries for 865 yards – a 6.7 average – and 11 touchdowns.
With 135 yards against Strafford, Hutcheson would become the first HHS back to hit the milestone since Chance Hunter in 2015. The then-junior rushed for 1,401 yards on 217 attempts and 14 touchdowns.
Hunter is the lone Tiger to eclipse 1,000 yards dating back to the 2005 season.
NO DIXON: Houston will compete in the postseason without one of its top players. Senior Paydon Dixon was injured in the regular-season finale against Liberty when after intercepting a pass in the end zone, he fell awkwardly over the approach for the long jump.
Dixon is the team’s second-leading rusher (105 carries, 373 yards) and tied for second on the team with 30 points scored. He is the team’s third-leading tackler from the safety position.
WATCH ONLINE: The Houston-Strafford district matchup will be streamed live in HD at www.houstonherald.com/live. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show featuring an interview from Sloan, breakdown of the Strafford offense by assistant coach Boulder McKinney as well as keys to the game from announcers Ryan Munson and Jim McNiell.
HHS STAT LEADERS: A look at the Tigers’ statistical leaders through the regular season:
RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD LG
Hutcheson 103 865 6.7 11 80
Dixon 105 373 3.6 2 22
Sawyer 72 320 4.4 5 23
Hurst 16 108 6.8 2 60
PASSING COMP ATT YDS AVG TD INT
Burchett 30 79 341 11.4 4 3
RECEIVING NO YDS TD AVG LG
Wilson 13 158 2 12.2 49
CLee 8 87 1 10.9 19
Sawyer 7 66 0 9.4 20
SCORING TD 2PT FG PAT TOT
Hutcheson 11 0 0 0 66
Dixon 4 3 0 0 30
Sawyer 5 0 0 0 30
CLee 2 0 0 4 23
Wilson 3 1 0 0 20
DEFENSE T TFL S FF FR INT
CLee 88 6 0 1 3 0
Wallander 87 0 0 4 0 0
Dixon 68 2 1 0 0 2
Hutcheson 64 2 1 0 0 0
CMitchell 51 7 0 1 1 3
Cichon 50 13 4 4 1 0
Sawyer 39 8 0 1 1 0
TMitchell 29 5 0 0 1 0
Burchett 26 1 0 0 1 4
Miller 25 4 2 0 1 0