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Brandon Zavala (13) connects with a kickoff while Wildcat teammate Landry Meskimen (22) comes in against Terrell, Sept. 13. Sulphur Springs has used several onside kicks this year to catch other teams off guard. Courtesy/Isabel Reyna
Sulphur Springs Football
Riding the crest of a 32-13 road win, the Wildcats try to defend their home turf Friday against state powerhouse Ennis.
The Harris rating service has installed the Lions as 21-point favorites.
“Playing Ennis is a challenge this week. They are on top of the standings, but we don’t feel like this is a ‘must-win’ game. We want to win them all, but we have several district games left. It’s a logjam in the standings for the fourth place,” said Matt Young, Sulphur Springs offensive coordinator.
Young took the place of head coach Greg Owens who was absent from the regular weekly news conference with local media.
Ennis coming into the game tied with Corsicana atop the district standings with 5-1, 4-0 marks.
The Lions opened the year winning 21-13 at Waxahachie.
Ennis’ lone loss of the year came on Sept. 6 to Bishop Lynch, 41-34. Since that point the Lions have strung together wins over Kaufman (49-14); North Forney (33-14); Terrell by a 37-0 score and on Oct. 4 won at home of a tough Royse City team, 38-21.
The Wildcats are 1-5 on the year, 1-2 in district. They played well on Oct. 4 at Forney, recording their first win of the year. The Wildcats defense rattled Forney all night with many tackles behind the line as they forced three Jackrabbit turnovers.
Sulphur Springs played well on offense with a balanced attack that featured four scoring runs and big plays through the passing the game.
The Wildcats could have won by a larger margin but had two touchdown runs negated due to holding penalties.
Ennis, under head coach Sam Harrell, was the pre-season pick to win the district title.
The Lions have 26 returning lettermen, including five offensive and seven defensive starters back.
Returning player Dyllan Santos was a terror last year. He accounted for 1,110 yards and 10 scores passing and rushed for 775 yards and 11 additional scores.
“Sulphur Springs can run and pass better than many teams, so they always present a challenge to your defense. They are big upfront and have hard-running backs so that makes defending them difficult. Their defense is solid, and they don’t give up the big play. It should be another good district game,” said Harrell.
Young said Ennis has had a strong program for years. He credits Harrell as being one of the first coaches to install an uptempo or no-huddle offense.
“To beat Ennis, you have to finish drives in the end zone with scores. Our defense has to continue to play well like they have all year and stop them,” Young said.
“We’ll have some momentum from that game [against Forney]. To get the win was a relief. You could tell it by the elation on the players’ faces,” Young said. “We need to play well again this week. Ennis is a very good team, and they play very hard. It will be a challenge; we’ve had a productive week preparing for them.”
The District 8-5A, DII battle is set for 7:30 p.m. at Gerald Prim Stadium, Friday, Oct. 11.