After all, the Bees have lost only once and that defeat came by five points at Lago Vista, another playoff contender.
But to move closer to that District 25-2A title the Bees have in their sights, they’ll have to knock off the two-time defending champion Salado Eagles. Those Eagles, by the way, have won 15 straight district games.
Academy (6-1 overall, 2-1 25-2A) hosts co-district leader Salado (6-2, 4-0) in a crucial 25-2A contest at 7:30 tonight at John Glover Stadium.
“We’d still like to believe (a district title) is a possibility for us,” Bees coach Royce McAdams said. “It’s obvious you have to beat Salado to do that. They’re not going to go down easy.”
No, they certainly won’t, especially with the way the Eagles have played defense in district.
Salado’s senior-laden defense has allowed 4.7 points and 126.8 yards per game.
Led by Patrick Prince at linebacker, Heath Bracken, Garret Ward and Tyler Coker on the line and Tyler Wright and Jerod Lutz in the secondary, the Eagles face quite a different offense than the one they saw a week ago.
Salado kept Lago Vista, the district’s highest-scoring team, off the scoreboard and limited the Vikings’ Slot-T offense to 78 yards in a 22-0 victory.
Against Academy, the Eagles will face an offense that throws the ball more than anyone else in the district. Bees quarterback Chase Gommert is the area’s third-ranked passer and has thrown for 1,224 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Gommert has completed passes to six receivers and five have scored touchdowns.
“You’ve got to be on your toes in the passing game,” Salado coach Jeff Chetham said. “They’ve got skill kids in space that you’ve got to make sure they’re taken care of.
“It boils down to tackling and making sure we get lined up and do what we need to do.”
The Bees don’t plan on changing things much without key receiver Andrew Sodek, who was injured in the loss to Lago Vista two weeks ago.
McAdams said sophomore Cameron Dutcher will start in Sodek’s spot.
Academy plans to stick with what’s worked so far, which is getting speedy receivers such as tight end Chase Reeders (23 catches, 426 yards, five touchdowns) and Noah Hamill (16-303, three) in position to make plays deep.
“We’re going to try and spread it out,” McAdams said. “We going to try and get it to (Gommert) as much as possible and spread it out.”
The Eagles have been just fine doing the opposite. Behind a strong offensive line led by senior Chase Stuckey, Salado has had success running the ball, averaging nearly 200 yards per game.
Wright, who’s rushed for 421 yards and six touchdowns, and senior Logan Foster (311 yards, four scores) are the primary ball carriers. Quarterback Lutz and Ward also see carries.
The Eagles had success running the ball last week and might have similar success against Academy’s defense, which had problems stopping Lago Vista at times.
“We want to go into each game feeling like we can utilize our personnel to the best of what we’re going against,” Cheatham said. “Last week, the kids were in a mindset of going out there and really playing the game well up front and we got in the mode of that and stayed in it.”
rschneider@temple-telegram.com
