With Salado coming off a school-record 13 wins and getting within a few plays of advancing to the Division I title game before losing to two-time champion Tatum 41-31 in the state semifinals a year ago, a championship seemed to be the proverbial next step.
While that goal remains, the Eagles are in search of the consistent form that made them so dominant last season.
“We started playing pretty good, but we’d get out there and wouldn’t finish in the third and fourth quarters,” Salado coach Jeff Cheatham said. “Last year, it was like, ‘Bam-bam-bam. All right, let’s get to Tuesday.’ This year it’s like, ‘Bam-bam-bam. Come on, let’s finish this.’ For some reason we just can’t get that consistency that we had last year.”
The Eagles (7-3) hope to find it soon, beginning when Salado meets No. 6-ranked Altair Rice Consolidated (9-0) at 7:30 tonight in a Division I bi-district playoff game at Matador Stadium.
The winner will face either Comfort or Geronimo Navarro in the area round next week.
Injuries have played a part in the Eagles’ inconsistent play this season. Key players such as Garret Ward, Justin Berumen and Clayton Whitmire have missed time, while several others have played through injuries.
Second-leading tackler Heath Bracken won’t play tonight after spraining his ankle in last week’s 30-10 loss to Rogers that denied Salado a third straight district crown.
But despite the unfortunate obstacles, the attitude the Eagles developed from last year’s playoffs hasn’t changed.
“What I’ve seen out of them this week is that it’s like it’s routine,” Cheatham said. “Instead of realizing the excitement that everybody is done and we’re still playing, we know we need to keep going.”
District 26-2A champion Rice, which posted its first undefeated regular season in school history this year and was a Division II state semifinalist in 2007, is no stranger to adversity, either.
In 2007, a Raiders player died in a car accident early in the season, then Rice suffered 14 player surgeries and won three straight playoff games by a single point on the final play.
“Last year’s playoff run was a surprise for us,” Rice coach Brad Dumont said. “Since the tragic car accident, we played with special meaning.
“(During the playoffs) it was like we had an angel looking over top of us. They’ve learned from those experiences.”
Without Bracken, Salado’s defense has a large task in stopping the Raiders’ multiple-spread offense, which features Zacchaeus “Ziggy” Foster, one of 2A’s top running backs.
The 5-9, 185-pound Foster has rushed for 1,286 yards (143 per game) and 15 touchdowns after racking up 2,643 yards and 31 TDs last year.
“His feet are really tremendous and he can stop and start in an instant,” Dumont said.
Receivers Marques Tolliver (34 catches, 506 yards, 10 TDs) and Mario Hull (31-447-4) are big-play threats for sophomore quarterback Myles Dumont, who has thrown 19 TD passes and just three interceptions in 149 attempts.
On the other side of the ball, the Raiders’ defense has been equally impressive, allowing only 162 total yards and less than 10 points per game.
“They’re so aggressive on defense,” said Cheatham, who compared Rice’s speed to McGregor and 3A No. 2 China Spring. “If we try to spread people out, try to do some jet-sweep stuff, with their speed, we’re playing right into their hands. With the size and ability they have, we have to be able to run the ball.”
Salado hopes to do just that behind its massive offensive line, which averages 6-4, 246 pounds per player.
“Their size and strength is pretty incredible for a 2A football team,” Dumont said. “They’re the best 2A football team we’ve seen by far.”
Forced into duty as Salado’s primary running back in the middle of the season, Tyler Wright has rushed for 667 yards and 11 TDs.
Quarterback Jerod Lutz (63-for-116, 961 yards) leads an offense that averages 336 yards and 29 points per game.
“The kids have been pretty resilient,” Cheatham said. “We’ve had a lot of adversity. We get another Friday night and I think they’re looking forward to giving it another shot because Rice is good.”
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
