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Return to action after bye week
After last week’s bye, Wildcats football head coach Greg Owens spoke Wednesday about how his team has played through the first half of the season, as well as looked ahead to this week’s opponent, No. 24 Royse City.
The Wildcats have had a very tough schedule so far this season, as Royse City is the fourth opponent they have faced that is currently ranked in the top-25 in the state according to Harris Ratings Weekly. Including Royse City, their opponents this season have a combined record of 30-1.
The Bulldogs will be yet another tough match for the Wildcats, but one they are prepared for.
“They’re not as dominating as a couple of the other teams we’ve played but they’re still really good,” Owens said.
Royse City is a run-heavy team, with 70-75% of their offense coming via the run. Their running back Champ Petty-Dozier is “extremely explosive and fast” according to Owens. The Wildcats head coach also spoke on quarterback Kenneth Spring and wide receiver Jonah Roberson as players to watch for.
“Upfront their offensive line is a physical group,” Owens said. “Those guys, they get after it, they’re pretty nasty up front. They’re confidence is in the run game and getting [Petty-Dozier] the ball, they’ll move him all over the place to get him the football.”
Owens then spoke about the Bulldogs defense, mentioning that they’re a physical group.
“Their defense, they run to the football, they’re well disciplined and structured,” he said. “They’re not going to give you the home run.”
We’ve got to play well, we’ve got to take care of the football,” Owens added. “We’ve got to be smart with it, we’ve got to punch it in. We can’t settle for field goals, we have to get the ball in the end zone.”
With the first half of their season behind them, the Wildcats head coach also spoke about how his team performed through the first five games and some of the players and areas he’s been impressed with so far.
“I’ve been pleased with JJ [Hall], he’s been an explosive runner. He’s probably been our most explosive guy offensively,” Owens said.
So far this year Hall has been the Wildcats’ third leading rusher, picking up 149 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries.
“Defensively, Riley Hammons, to me he’s been one of the guys who’s been the most consistent,” Owens added.
Hammons has had an excellent start to the season, leading the Wildcats in tackles, as well as racking up two of their three interceptions this season.
“I’m proud of the way our offensive line guys have fought,” Owens said. “We still have to get better, that’s a weekly challenge.”
Overall I’ve been pleased with our defense, I think they’ve done a great job of continuing to battle, keep running, keep playing, rallying to the football, getting turnovers, I think they’ve done a great job in that. Offensively it’s still a work in progress, we have to get consistent.”
The Wildcats coach spoke more about how tough their schedule has been so far, but how it could be starting to get a bit easier as the season winds down.
“We’re more like some of the guys we’re fixing to play a little bit,” Owens said. “You still need to win a ball game, it still goes back to our confidence.”
This week Sulphur Springs will be returning home for the first time since their 57-34 loss to Crandall back on Friday, Sept. 17. The Wildcats coach spoke on how excited they are to return home, saying, “It’s a comfort level, you’re just familiar with where you’re at. The home crowd is there and those kind of things just give you a little bit of an advantage.”
Kickoff for Friday’s district match between Sulphur Springs and Royse City is set for 7:30 p.m. Coverage of the game will be published in Wednesday’s edition of the News-Telegram.