Bulldogs put undefeated record on the line against Farmington

Wednesday, September 18, 2013
In this file photo, Sikeston's Courtney Hawkins covers up the ball against Dexter on Friday night in Dexter. Sikeston defeated Dexter 34-0. The Bulldogs host Farmington Friday. (David Jenkins photo)

sports@standard-democrat.com

SIKESTON -- If defense wins championships then the Sikeston Bulldogs are looking good so far this season.

Through three games Sikeston's defense has yet to allow a single point and have held Charleston, New Madrid County Central and Dexter to a combined total of 153 yards of offense, or an average of 51 yards per game.

Sikeston's Reese Porter delivers a pass before getting hit by a pair of Dexter defenders on Friday night in Dexter. (David Jenkins photo)

More impressively, Sikeston's run defense has allowed just 59 total rushing yards in the first three games, which is just under 20 yards rushing per game.

The Bulldogs (3-0) and that dominant defense will put their undefeated record on the line tomorrow night when they host SEMO Conference North foe Farmington at 7 p.m.

"We feel like Farmington's probably going to be a little bit better team than what we've seen, no disrespect to anybody, but that's just kind of the nature of the beast," Sikeston coach Kent Gibbs said. "It's our first conference game and we've got to be ready to go."

Last year in the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Sikeston defeated Farmington 38-6 behind six forced turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

The Knights finished 3-7 on the season marking the team's first losing record since 2003.

But several players return from that team under new head coach Eric Kruppe. who took over the program for the very successful former coach Todd Vaughn.

In Vaughn's seven years as head coach, the Knights went 57-23 with three playoff appearances, including a state semifinal appearance in 2011, but the team stumbled in his final season last year.

The struggles have continued so far this season as the Knights come into the game with a 1-2 mark, having lost to Festus 70-27 in the season opener and then 38-7 last week at Jackson.

Farmington's win came against Trinity, 25-13 in Week 2.

Gibbs said Farmington's record is not an accurate representation of the team he expects to see tomorrow night.

"The Festus game was a little misleading from what people told me," Gibbs said. "Farmington had some breakdowns fumbling the ball and special teams breakdowns and they got behind really early. But they did move the football so that score's a little misleading as I talked to some of the other coaches. And of course last week they played Jackson who may be the best team in the conference. What Jackson did, Jackson's going to do to a lot of people.

"A little bit misleading, but at the same time you've got to look at their program and where it's been. I know it's a new coach but a lot of those coaches are still there and a lot of their schemes are the same."

Returning at quarterback is Justin Boehm, who has a year of experience under his belt and will most certainly be looking to atone for last year's game against the Bulldogs in which he threw four interceptions, fumbled once and was sacked five times.

Boehm, a dual threat, did throw for 179 yards and rushed for 42 in the game, giving Gibbs plenty of reasons to be concerned.

"Offensively they're a spread team," Gibbs said. "They like to throw the ball all over the field. Their quarterback is a really good player. They're huge up front, which is going to present us some problems for us. We're going to have to do really well covering passes and getting pressure on the quarterback.

"Their quarterback does a nice job on the read play. They'll also run the counter on the backside of that. Basically some of the things that you've seen in the past from them offensively, you're going to see again which always presents a big challenge to us."

While the Bulldogs have had a good start to the season, it hasn't been without a cost.

Numerous injuries have piled up, forcing Gibbs to reach deep into the depth chart to fill the voids.

"A lot of our injury situation is still up in the air," Gibbs said. "We're still fighting the injury bug but at the same time we've had some guys step in there and do a good job for us. One of the things about injuries is it present opportunities for other kids. When those guys get healthy it also presents some competition."

Gibbs said he expects Hayden Harris to return on the defensive line and is hopeful linebacker Austin Brown will be ready after suffering a broken nose.

Running back and defensive lineman Chris Word is questionable after a sprained ankle against NMCC.

Several new faces stepped in and performed well against Dexter, including running backs Earnest Fobbs (18 carries, 134 yards, 2 TD) and Courtney Hawkins (16-81, 2 catches, 30 yards, 1 TD) and defensive linemen Devin Cochran and Braydon Reynolds, both of whom recorded quarterback sacks.

"All in all the guys that have filled in have done a pretty good job for us and we've got to hope that they will keep doing so," Gibbs said.

Out of action for certain this week are defensive lineman Peyton Boyd and offensive lineman Tanner Henson, both with knee injuries.

Losing Henson is bad timing as the Bulldogs will be going against the Knights' huge defensive line.

"Defensively they'll probably be the biggest defense up front we've seen so it will be key for our offensive line to attack and not wait for the big guys to get moving," Gibbs said.

Quarterback Reese Porter has shown steady improvement each week. He leads the team with 341 yards rushing and five touchdowns.

He's thrown for 177 yards with two touchdowns, but he's only completed 34 percent of his passes. Although a big chunk of it doesn't completely fall on Porter's shoulders as several well thrown passes have been dropped.

"Last week we didn't take advantage of some scoring opportunities," Gibbs said. "We had some dropped passes -- some balls that should have definitely been caught. However we did move the ball and we did score when we got in the red zone, which are all plusses."

The Bulldogs will be looking to continue a recent run of success against the Knights after struggling through the previous decade.

Sikeston has won three of the last four against Farmington and leads the all-time series 19-15-1.

Gibbs expects the Knights to present his defense with its stiffest test to date. He says continuing the incredible dominance that his defense has shown so far is not likely to continue.

"Can you keep shutting people out? That's not realistic," Gibbs said. "Can you keep shutting them down to nothing? That's not realistic. But what is realistic is keep doing the things that you're doing. And as you get farther into your schedule, different things will present themselves. Different offenses. Different injuries.

"The big thing is, what we tell our kids is, 'you've just got to keep pushing in the direction that you need to go.' And for us it's really not a big secret. We're going to be aggressive on defense, we're going to run to the ball. We're going to try to get as many hats to the ball as we can get. And those are the kinds that you've got to look for. If we're not doing that, regardless of who we're playing, we're going to start giving up yardage. We're going to start giving up plays. We're going to start giving up points. To pitch a shutout every week, that's not realistic. But to get better every week and keep doing the things that's going to make us better down the road. That's the kind of things we're going to look for."

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