By Chuck Reherman, Sports Editor – Southwest Covenant looks to remain unbeaten in District C-2 play as the Patriots travel to Temple.
It is the first Thursday night game for the Patriots. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
The Patriots, 6-1, are 2-0 in district play and a win will set up a showdown with Tipton next week for the district title. SWCS does have to play Grandfield the next week, but the Bearcats already have two district losses with the Patriots and Tipton still on the schedule.
Temple is 0-7 and 0-2 in the district. The Tigers lost to Grandfield 56-6 last week and Tipton 54-6 the week before.
The Tigers have struggled all season and have scored only 4r2 points in their seven games. Temple has been mercy ruled in all seven of their games this season.
“This is one of those games that you worry about,” SWCS head coach Trey Cloud said. “You never want to overlook anyone, but you don’t want to get anyone hurt, especially this time of year with the games we have coming up.
“Temple has struggled, we know that and the players know that,” he said. “But, we have to stay focused, do what we have to do to get the win and get ready for the next week.”
Brad Spurlock has taken over the program and is trying to rebuild the Tigers, who have struggled to win the last four years.
Fullback Joey Doran is the team’s leading rusher and quarterback Malik Brown is a dual threat quarterback.
But, the line on both sides of the ball is young and have struggled against the more experienced teams.
The Patriots come into the game after rolling to a 48-0 win over Corn Bible Academy in a game that last just minutes into the third quarter. SWCS has mercy ruled their last two opponents.
“We will establish the running game early, but we will try to be balanced on offense,” Cloud said. The last two weeks we have not had to throw the ball very much because we have scored quickly on racing plays.
“The main thing is we want to get out of the game with a win and be healthy,” he added. “I look to get our younger players in early on and give them some playing time. They did a good job in the time they played the last two weeks and the more experience we can get them, the better our program gets.”
