Coach Larry Lovett goes over plays with members of the Badgers varsity team during Tuesday's practice. Lampasas is hosting undefeated Dripping Springs tonight at 7:30 p.m. The Badgers identify with underdogs.

When the Dolphins upset the Patriots in the NFL a few weeks back, the Badgers took note.

Then after the Browns handed the defending-champion Giants their first loss of the season on Monday Night Football, the players again were inspired.

Lampasas is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Miami and Cleveland tonight by slaying District 25- 4A giant Dripping Springs.

One week after traveling to Austin for a game against the unbeaten state champion Lake Travis Cavaliers, the Badgers turn right around and host a 7-0 Tigers team tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Badger Stadium.

It is just another day in the life of an underdog.

Like their NFL counterparts, the Badgers are not receiving much of a chance against Dripping Springs after the Cavaliers pounded Lampasas 57-0 last Friday night, but head coach Ryan Bailey knows first hand the dangers of overlooking a team.

PHOTOS BY GABE WOLF Tyler Willie prepares to power through another Badger during defensive drills on Tuesday. After facing Lake Travis' pass-oriented offense last week, Lampasas turns its attention to the Tigers who prefer a run-based attack utilizing alternating quarterbacks. "I'll be honest with you: I did it in high school," Bailey said. "Our team was 5-0. We were in the top 10 in the state for the first time in our school's history. [The opponents] were 0-5.

"It was the first district game. We had to win it, and they beat us."

It will not be easy to pull off a shocker, however, as the Tigers possess a dangerous quarterback duo with junior Jacob Moore and sophomore Jeff Tuck.

Together the alternating signalcallers passed for 967 yards and seven touchdowns while also leading the Tigers in rushing. Moore has 457 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, and Tuck tallied three scores to go with 267 rushing yards.

"These guys are basically running backs," Bailey said. "They're not going to try to juke you; they're going to run downhill and get first downs.

Cory Carpenter looks on as Chris Thurman executes his assignment on an option play during Tuesday's practice. "Both of them do a good job of just going forward."

Last week against Hutto, Tuck rushed for 62 yards, and Moore posted another 48, in addition to their combined 13-of-20 passing performance.

On defense, the Tigers held the Hippos -- a team that runs a wishbone similar to Lampasas' -- to 213 yards of offense while forcing five turnovers.

"By us following Hutto, we get a chance to see what people do to them," Bailey said. "Dripping Springs is going to run a 3-3 stack, overload the tight end side and put a bunch of people in the box.

"We have to take advantage of every yard we can get."

Like most underdogs, the Badgers also will need a little luck if they are going to pull off the upset. Luck, however, seems to be evading Lampasas during its losing season.

Dripping Springs, conversely, seems to be Lady Luck's right hand man.

Late in its game against McCallum, Tuck set up a game-winning touchdown on a fourth-down play. And Moore threw a scoring strike against Marble Falls in overtime to give Dripping Springs a one-point victory.

"Every break you can catch, they've caught it," Bailey said. "So, hopefully they're done catching them because we haven't caught any, and we're ready to catch a few."

The Matchup

Teams

Lampasas (0-6) v. Dripping Springs (7-0)

Last Week

Lampasas lost to Lake Travis 57-0

Dripping Springs defeated Hutto 17-7

Key Players

Lampasas: Linebackers Rush Seaver, Kacey Tucker; Defensive line Gabe Sanchez; Defensive End Cory Summers; Receivers Jonathan VanLiew, Cole Ball; Quarterbacks Seth Fry, Vann Millican; Running backs Gabe Terrell, Ronnie Branch, Aaron Reyna, Brode DuBose.

Dripping Springs: Running backs Kaleb Syring; Quarterback Jacob Moore, Jeff Tuck; Receivers Grant Garrett, Connor McMullin, Chris Smith, Matt Erekson.

At Stake

Lampasas faces its second undefeated opponent in two weeks as it tries to keep its playoff hopes alive. A win would end a losing streak of 16 games stretching back to last season.