Published: October 09, 2008 11:46 am      

No comfort zone

Dixon, Blackburn taking it one game at a time

Ada — As the deans of area coaches, Sulphur’s Jim Dixon and Stratford’s Michael Blackburn know better than to get too comfortable.

Dixon, whose fifth-ranked club is one of the surprises in Class 2A this fall, remained unbeaten and improved to 2-0 in the District 2A-4 race with an easy victory over Marietta last week, but the Bulldogs begin a rugged four-game stretch at home Friday night against Tishomingo. After playing the Indians — 0-2 in league play this fall but runner-up in A-5 last year — Friday, Sulphur will face three other 2007 playoff teams — Coalgate, eighth-ranked Davis and No. 4 Plainview — over the next three weeks.

“We’ve played some pretty good teams so far, but our schedule is getting tougher starting this week, no doubt about it,” Dixon said.

Stratford, meanwhile, earned a key 21-13 victory over Wewoka at home last week to move into a share of third place in District A-5, and Blackburn’s Bulldogs can take another huge step toward their first playoff berth since 2005 if they can get past Wayne — 1-3 but boasting one of the league’s most exciting players in quarterback Josh Barrett — on the road Friday.

“We’ve still got Wynnewood (tied with Stratford at 3-1 in A-5) and Konawa (2-2 in league play) down the road, and they’re in the hunt (for a playoff spot),” Blackburn said. “We’re just taking them one at a time, and this one is really important.”

In other games involving area teams Friday night, Konawa (2-3, 2-2) can help Stratford and climb back into the top four in A-5 with a win at Wynnewood; Coalgate (2-3, 0-2), coming off back-to-back losses to Plainview and Davis, figures to earn its first 2A-4 victory at winless Kingston; and Allen (1-4, 1-2) can keep alive its hopes in the District B-2 race with a victory at Caddo (3-2, 2-2).

TISHOMINGO AT SULPHUR

Despite a rash of injuries Dixon said has sidelined “six or seven” starters, the Bulldogs — unranked when the season began — rolled through the first half of their schedule and, with a win Friday, can stay among the favorites for a championship in one of the state’s toughest 2A districts.

“Thus far, I’m pleased with the way our kids have played,” Dixon said. “We’ve had some injuries, and we’ve just had to hump up and overcome them. We’ve had to have a few younger kids play, and some of our older kids have had to play both ways, and they’ve done a good job.”

In Tishomingo (2-3, 0-2), the Bulldogs will face a team that had the bad luck to open 2A-4 play against the top three teams in the district.

“Tishomingo’s got a good team,” Dixon said of the Indians, who were beaten 31-5 by Plainview last week. “The (Plainview) game was a lot closer than the score. Plainview only had about 180 yards and Tishomingo had 140. (The Indians) played good against (3A power) Madill (in a 49-27 loss to open the season) and Davis (in a 35-7 loss in Week 4). They just didn’t get any breaks.

“(Jordan) Vasquez (Tishomingo’s senior quarterback) does a good job, and (Dalton) Williams is a real good tailback,” he added. “They have some big kids up front. Their offensive line probably averages 240 or 250.”

Sulphur rolled over Marietta, 40-6, last week despite playing without junior linebacker/fullback Logan Grinstead and several other starters. Seniors Chance Wallace and Ty Pettitt filled in for Grinstead (who returned to practice Monday and could play this week) on defense, and senior Tony Colungo has given the Bulldogs a big lift on both sides of the ball the past two weeks after missing the first three games of the season. Colungo rushed for a career-high 123 yards and a touchdown last week and was also one of the leaders of a defensive unit that has been the team’s strength all season.

“He does a good job for us at rover on defense,” Dixon said of Colungo. “He’s also done a good job at tailback. He’s pretty quick.”

Despite his team’s impressive five-game stretch (Sulphur outscored its first five opponents by a combined 173-53), Dixon said the Bulldogs will have to continue to improve if they’re going to survive the next four weeks and claim their first district title since 2005, when they won the 2A title.

“I never am pleased — I think that’s part of being a coach,” Dixon said. “But I’m happy with the way the kids have come around. We lost some very good players from last year’s team, but at the same time we had 10 starters back. They’ve worked hard, and they’re doing what it takes right now.

“We just need to be sure we play our best in every game,” he said. “You just take them one at time. We have to be sure the main thing we do is to get a little better every week, regardless of who we play. If you don’t improve, you’re going to get beat. So far, I think we’ve definitely improved a little bit each week, but we have to continue to get better, because this week is a big step.”

STRATFORD AT WAYNE

Although Straford’s defense is coming off easily its best game of the season, the Bulldog defenders figure to face an even bigger test this week in Barrett, who has already thrown for almost 900 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for another 505 yards through five games to rank among the state’s leaders in total offense in any class.

“Their quarterback is really athletic,” Blackburn said of Barrett, whose father, Mark, is a Wayne assistant and has spent the past two seasons as the head coach of the Ada Outlawz semipro team. “They’ve also got a couple of tall receivers who are pretty good.

“They lost to (No. 8) Stroud, 50-21, but they were up 14-13 in the third quarter,” he added. “They’ve been getting beat, but they’ve got talent.”

Stratford has won two straight in district play (51-14 at Dibble and last week’s victory) with a 20-19 non-district loss at Crescent sandwiched between, and the Bulldogs face a manageables schedule over their final four games if they can get past Wayne. With a win Friday, Stratford will not only move into a tie for second in the league standings behind either Stroud or Dewar (who play for the league lead this week) but also keep alive hopes for the school’s first district title since the 2004 Bulldogs claimed the A-8 crown.

“We’re certainly not giving up on the possibility of a district championship,” Blackburn said. “Stroud and Dewar are playing this week, and there’s always the possibility of a three-way tie (with a Dewar win Friday). That goal is still out there, but right now our biggest concern is Wayne.”

Stratford will counter Barrett and his talented receiving corps with its own two-headed monster in senior tailback Austin Black and sophomore quarterback Chase Chamberlain. Black, who piled up over 1,200 yards on the grounds as a junior, missed the first two games of this season with a sore knee but has rushed for over 100 yards in his last three outings, including 152 yards last week. Chamberlain, who ran for over 1,000 yards as a freshman and had offseason shoulder surgery, had his best passing game of the season last week and has also bolstered Stratford’s secondary since he got healthy enough to play both ways.

In last week’s victory, the Bulldogs limited Wewoka to less than 60 yards in offense, with the exception of a 94-yard pass-and-run that gave the Tigers their final touchdown, and Blackburn said his club will have to continue to limit big plays this week.

“I don’t know if they play to our strengths,” he said of Friday’s opponent. “Their big-play capability scares you, and Barrett is pretty hard to contain back there.

“We’re still concerned in the secondary, but I feel a little more confident than I did early in the year,” Blackburn added. “Offensively, we’re still struggling a little bit. The offensive line is doing better, but we still have a long way to go there. Our backs need to block better, too, and we need to work on our passing game. We like to run the ball, but we always try to throw the ball some.”