Bulldogs look to strengthen postseason stance with win over Soldan

sports@standard-democrat.com

SIKESTON -- With the regular season schedule winding down, the Sikeston Bulldogs will have just two more chances to secure home-field advantage for the district playoffs.

Currently, the Bulldogs sit in fifth place in Class 4, District 1, one spot behind Farmington, a team that Sikeston owns the tiebreaker by virtue of its 14-13 win three weeks ago.

The top four seeds will host first round games.

Sikeston can strengthen its cause tomorrow when they host Soldan International Studies at 7 p.m. on homecoming night at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium.

A win against the 6-1 Tigers would not only reinforce the Bulldogs' chances at home-field advantage, but it would also be a huge boost in confidence for a team suffering through a three-game losing streak.

The three-game skid is the longest by the Bulldogs since 2007, coach Kent Gibbs' first season as head coach at Sikeston.

Soldan, which is currently second behind John Burroughs in its Class 3, District 2, will present a formidable challenge against the Bulldogs (3-4).

"They're very, very, very athletic," Gibbs said. "They have good size. I think that athlete-wise they're somewhere between Jackson and Cape, maybe just right below them. However it doesn't take but two of those guys to make big plays. They may not have as many across the board but they've got two or three kids that can really get it."

The Tigers have compiled some impressive wins over the likes of Priory, Gateway Tech and Vashon. They average 31 points per game, three times topping 40 in a game, and allow 18 points per game, a number skewed by the amount allowed to Miller Career Academy in a 54-12 loss to the Class 4 state-ranked squad.

Soldan has numerous playmakers on the team, but junior quarterback Ronald Clower, a 5-foot-7, 200-pound bowling ball with a strong arm is the key component.

He has thrown for 1,106 yards, completing 64 of 108 passes (59 percent) with 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He's also rushed for 203 yards with four touchdowns.

Clower, however, was injured last week and it's unclear whether he will be able to play tomorrow.

"We don't know if he's going to come back or not," Gibbs said. "When he's not in there they're more of a running team. When he's in there they're going to throw it all over the place. He really likes to throw it downfield almost every trip.

"The key on him, if he's in the game, is we're going to have to pressure him and not let him get outside the pocket and run it. We think we can put some pressure on him. But we have to all get there at the same time and make tackles when we get there. Our tackling hasn't been as good as it needs to be. Most of those kids are bigger kids and thick-legged kids that break tackles so we're going to have to really concentrate on tackling."

If Clower can't go, the Tigers will turn to 5-5 sophomore Arnold Adams, who has thrown for 117 yards with a touchdown and an interception on 4 of 8 attempts.

Also potentially getting snaps is 6-2 senior Tre'von Billington, who has completed 5 of 16 passes for 42 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Adams is more of a running threat, having rushed for 103 yards on 14 carries with a TD.

When he isn't under center, Billington is the top receiver on the team with 27 receptions for 487 yards and seven touchdowns.

Gibbs said Southeast Missouri State saw Billington in a 7-on-7 scrimmage and offered him on the spot.

Travon Wadlington, a 5-8, 185-pound senior, is second on the team with 331 yards rushing, averaging 9.5 yards per carry with four touchdowns. He also has 17 receptions for 292 yards with three touchdowns. His total of 623 yards is tops on the team.

Therrie Harris, a 6-1, 220-pound senior is the leading rusher on the team with 351 yards, averaging 8.8 yards per carry with two TDs.

Senior Terry Graham (12 catches, 189 yards, 3 TD), junior Jallon Johnson (8-138, 2 TD), and 6-3 junior Courtney Barlow (6-110, 2 TD), are all top receiving threats.

On defense, Soldan runs an aggressive, blitzing scheme that has been high-risk and high-reward for the Tigers.

"They put eight to nine guys in the box and bring a lot of linebackers," Gibbs said.

Wadlington is the leading tackler with 78 stops. Terrion Conner has 61 tackles and five sacks while Harris has 57 tackles and four sacks.

Jaylen Bohannon, a 6-3, 210 pound junior, has 46 tackles and a remarkable 17 sacks, which leads the entire St. Louis area.

The Bulldogs have prepared this week to try to offset the Tigers' pressure in different ways.

"There's a couple different lines of thinking on that," Gibbs said. "You can power the football inside like we did the other night or you can try to get outside on the edge with some passes and screens and things like that. To be honest about it we'll probably try a little of both and see how it goes. We've got to slow them down on defense because they really do come a lot. At the same time when they come on defense that opens some things up -- it leaves some running lanes and leaves some passing lanes."

Last week against Class 5 state-ranked Jackson, the Bulldogs used a double-tight, double-wing offense for the first time this season and for a half it was successful in keeping the high-powered Indians offense on the sidelines as it was a 7-0 through halftime.

The Bulldogs couldn't keep the success going in the second half as Jackson pulled away to win 42-0. But for its first appearance of the season, it proved to Gibbs that it can be done if executed properly.

"We like what it gave us," Gibbs said. "It keeps our defense off the field for a while and it kind of puts everybody to sleep. But the thing about it is you've still got to score. We weren't able to score out of it. It will be a part of our offense and we're going to do what's working that night and hopefully we can do some things out of each one of our looks, whether it's the spread look or whether we bring it in a little bit."

The Bulldogs are led in rushing by junior Victwon Riley with 554 yards on 106 carries with seven touchdowns. Junior Earnest Fobbs has 467 yards on 96 carries with four scores.

Junior quarterback Nathan Hampton has thrown for 532 yards, completing 46 of 92 passes (50 percent) with four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Corbyn Blissett has 11 receptions for 256 yards with two TDs and Donnell Cobb has 12 catches for 103 yards with a TD.

Fobbs leads the defense with 86 tackles, including 12 for loss and three sacks.

Shane Garrett follows up with 39 tackles and two sacks.

Despite the losing streak, Gibbs says that his team has remained upbeat throughout practices.

"I've been proud of the work ethic of our kids and what we've done," Gibbs said. "When you lose a few games in a row, certainly that's something you've got to worry about. But I think for the most part our kids have come in with positive attitudes, ready to work and doing the things we've asked them to do. It's tough to do, but when you face adversity the easy thing is to give into it. We've preached and preached that we are right there. We're a couple plays away from being 5-2. We've got a couple ballgames that, if we play really well, we will have a shot at and then we'll get into districts. We'd like to create a little momentum for ourselves and get some confidence back and get it headed in the right direction."