When the Houston High School football team faces Liberty this Friday in Mountain View in the semifinals of the Class 2 District 4 Tournament, the epic battle staged by the two teams Oct. 25 in Houston will certainly be fresh in the minds of both squads’ players and coaches.
In that South Central Association conference contest, the visiting Eagles scored a touchdown on the final play of the contest to break a scoreless tie and escape with a 6-0 victory.
The Eagles are No. 9 in the latest Class 2 state rankings.
HHS head coach Eric Sloan identified three primary keys to his team’s chances for success this week.
KEY #1: DON’T GIVE UP THE “BIG PLAY”
In several of the Tigers’ losses this season, the opponent has benefited from at least one momentum-changing play.
Sloan has referred to the issue as his team’s “Achilles’ heel.”
Liberty’s option-oriented offense can strike on the ground and through the air, and the Tigers’ defenders will likely need to be ready to be at their best (as was the case in the last matchup with the Eagles).
KEY #2: WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE
The Tigers didn’t turn the ball over in last week’s upset victory at Ava, and they would be wise to do the same thing this week.
Giving a tough team extra chances is never a good idea.
Through 10 games this season, Houston has turned the ball over only once on a fumble and 7 times by interceptions.
KEY #3: KEEP THE OFFENSE ON THE FIELD
One way to keep a high-powered offense under control is to keep it on the sideline.
Houston’s ground game has been stout all season long, and has been virtually unstoppable of late. Producing lengthy, time-consuming drives could make the difference for the Tigers this week.
So far this season, Houston has amassed 2,376 rushing yards on 387 carries, for an average of 6.1 yards per carry (the national average is 1,452 yards).
Sloan has utilized versatile senior Jordan Arthur in multiple ways on offense this year, including as a receiver, running back and quarterback. He leads the Tigers in rushing yards with 624 (on 115 carries) and receiving yards with 537 (on 24 receptions), and has also thrown 2 touchdown passes.
HHS junior quarterback DJ Riley has rushed for 452 yards and passed for 960 (including 8 touchdowns), while senior Bryson Jordan has come on strong late in the season and has run for 443 yards.
INJURY REPORT
Senior running back and defensive lineman Layne Seago is out for the season with a knee injury.
Liberty (8-2) has beaten Houston in 10 of the last 11 regular season meetings and twice in first round district tournament games during that stretch.
The Tigers (6-4) enter the contest with high hopes based on last week’s fine all-around performance at Ava and a run of solid play that has lasted several weeks.
