Badger Field will be the site for the week two football contest between Lampasas and Salado.
The teams are both 1-0 after the Eagles beat Troy 59-42 in week one, and the Badgers beat Fredericksburg 52-14.
Salado will bring what is an explosive offense into town to challenge the Badgers, and the Lampasas defense will be tested to deal with the speed and athleticism the Eagles have in their skill positions.
“This might be the fastest team we see,” Lampasas head coach Troy Rogers said. “I mean they’re fast, but not overly big. Similar in my mind to Fredericksburg in the sense that they’ve got good skill players but not real big O-line, D-line guys.”
He added that this is the second season for Salado head coach Ricky Beaty, who has nine returning starters on defense and four on offense. Last season, the Eagles were 7-5 overall and reached the area round of the playoffs.
“They are very multiple, and they’ve got several guys that are dangerous at receiver,” Rogers said. “And then, of course, the quarterback is a very dynamic player that gets it done with his legs as well.
“We’re going to have to be disciplined,” the coach said. “We’re going to have to keep the quarterback contained and keep playing good coverage and getting after them.”
Last season, the Badgers beat Salado 49-30 on the road in a game that was back and forth for much of the contest, but Lampasas was called for 17 penalties. The Badgers will need to avoid a similar fate Friday night if they want to emerge victorious once again.
Also in last season’s game, the Eagles were able to hurt Lampasas on some run-pass option looks that would lull the Badgers to sleep with the run game, then they would run the same look and hit the tight end up the seam over the top of linebackers who had their eyes in the backfield. That led to some big plays for the Eagles. They did the same thing to Troy last week.
Eye discipline on defense will be important, and being able to see it on film after playing against it last year should help the Badgers in preparation this week.
“The good thing is you see it on film, and you know it’s coming. It’s not a matter of if; it’s a matter of when,” Rogers said. “That’s what they try to do. They try and lull you to sleep by running these pop leads where now the guy that is eyeballing that tight end is like, ‘I’ve got to get out on this edge, or I’ve got to fill this gap’, and then you leave them alone. And the safeties are doing the same thing -- over pursuing things and leaving guys.”
The coach spoke about making sure his staff teaches the players exactly what their job is this week against those looks, so the Badgers know what to do and can focus on doing their job rather than trying to do the job of their teammate.
“In order to stop some of that stuff you have to be disciplined, and you have to understand, ‘what is my assignment,’” Rogers said. “We’ve got to make sure there isn’t any miscommunication on the back end … that’s where you get those long touchdowns. I like playing these guys like this because they do force you to be disciplined.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Rogers said the Eagles don’t have a ton of size on the defensive line, but they make up for that with their speed and the ways they try to trick the opposing offensive line.
If the Badger linemen can effectively get their hands on the Salado defensive line, the head coach feels good about what they may be able to do in the running game.
Lampasas wants to build on the success in that department from week one.
“They’re not real big up front, but they’re fast,” he said of the Eagles. “Their [defensive] linemen are quick, and they move and they’ll stunt and twist and do all kinds of games. We have to get our hands on them. Once we get our hands on them, I feel good about being able to move them, but that’s going to be the first thing … “We have to make sure we’re aligned well, make sure our first step is a good step, and we have to get hands on those guys up front,” Rogers said. “I think if we can do that, we can have some success in the run game.”
Another goal for the Badgers this week is to be more efficient in the passing game. Lampasas had some success throwing the ball last week, but the team’s completion percentage was below 50%. Rogers would like to get that number up around 60% if possible this week.
Some of the inaccuracy when playing Fredericksburg was a direct result of miscommunication or missed assignments in pass protection. That is to be expected in game one of the season with a young offensive line, so the coaches have worked with that group this week. They expect to see improvement and growth with a big but inexperienced group.
As this is the home opener, it will also be Senior Night for Lampasas. Players and coaches are all excited to step onto Badger Field for the first time in 2025.
“It’s exciting, it’s going to be a good environment, and I just hope we can take that next step as a football team and clean up some things from last week and continue to get better at the things that looked good,” Rogers said.
According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the Badgers are a 10-point favorite over the Eagles in this game.
