Millers open district play with Norman

YHS looking for 4-0 start

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Kale Fouts tackles Moore's Daniel Hishaw in the Millers last outing. (Photo by Chuck Reherman

By Chuck Reherman
Sports Editor
Yukon opens district play tonight and the Millers will be looking to keep their unblemished record intact.
The 3-0 Millers will look to go 4-0 for the first time in 20 years, but will face a tough test with an improved Norman. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., with homecoming festivities starting at 7 p.m.
The game was moved up a day from Friday to avoid the impending weather that is expected to come in late Thursday night or early Friday morning.
Norman comes into the game with a 2-1 record after losing to Moore 14-7 last week. The Tigers, though, opened the season with a pair of wins, beating rival Norman North 14-7 and rolling past Edmond Deer Creek 43-14.
The Millers have had two weeks to prepare for the Tigers, having a bye week last week. YHS head coach Jeremy Reed, who normally doesn’t care for bye weeks for high school teams, said this one was good for his team and should help them come in more rested for the game.
Yukon won the meeting between the teams last season (Norman went 1-9 in each of the last two seasons).
“Norman is a scary team,” Reed said. “When their offense is hot, it is real hot. They will run a lot of run-pass option plays and have a good quarterback and runningbacks.
“Everyone is 0-0 right now,” Reed said of team starting district play. “We don’t want to downplay our strong start but wins and losses are more magnified now with district play. We had a good talk about it with the players this week.”
Norman has eight starters back from the 2017 team led by quarterback Cade Horton. Horton is the one player that makes the Norman offense go.
The Tigers have also improved their defense from last year. The Tigers allowed 47 points per game last year but have given up only an average of 13 points through their first three games.
Norman’s offense will get a strong test from a much improved Miller defense. The Miller defense did give up its first points of the season in their last outing, a 49-27 win over Moore, but have had the extra time to make adjustments to their defense.
Offensively, Norman’s defense will have to deal with a multiple attack. Isaiah Butler had a breakout game in the Millers’ last outing, but the week before it was Antonio Washingtion. And, YHS is getting solid performances from its two A backs, Noah Davis and Landon Donoho.