This week, the Badger football team will travel to a brand-new venue for the opportunity to play one of the best opponents in the state – the Stephenville Yellowjackets.
Lampasas heads into the game 7-1 overall, with a 1-1 record in district play.
There is no beating around the bush in the athletic building this week. Everyone knows exactly who they are playing this week and the challenge in front of them.
Still, this team is excited to go on the road to a brand-new stadium and take on a tough challenge.
“The best part about it is we get to play another football game,” head coach Troy Rogers said. “The more football we play, the more we find out about our team. And getting to go over there, playing in that nice facility against the number-one team in the state in some polls, so you get to really find out what you’re made of with that.”
Often, when high school coaches across the state turn on film to prepare for a game week, they are able to identify a couple of players who are the true threats as well as spot some weaknesses in individuals. But when watching Stephenville play, that doesn’t happen as easily because the team as a whole is solid.
The Yellowjackets spread the ball around offensively, and there isn’t one player making all the tackles or all the plays on offense. They are disciplined and solid on both sides of the ball, and they know that. They do their best not to get in their own way and dare the opponents to beat them straight up.
“There’s no weaknesses … they’re just solid across the board, and they don’t do a lot of fancy things schemewise,” Rogers said.
“Offensively, they’re going to take advantage of what you don’t do well. And they are well coached, so if you try to crowd the box and take the run away, they are going to throw it over your head. And if you try to take the pass away, they’re going to run it.”
The head coach identified two players on the Stephenville offense to keep an eye on: Trot Jordan, the quarterback who has transferred in from Argyle and wears No. 17, and his freshman wide receiver, Caden Monk, No. 34.
However, if the Badgers focus too much on slowing down those two, the Yellowjackets’ run game could give them fits. And there are certainly other pass catchers available as well.
Offensively, the Badgers will have to focus foremost on taking care of the ball and not giving Stephenville extra possessions or easy points.
The Badgers will need to get their running game going and stick to it. They must use it to create long drives that will keep the Yellowjackets’ offense off the field and help to shorten the game.
“I think what’s happened when you look at these games … they jump up on you, and now you’re getting away from your gameplan,” Rogers said. “You’re trying to do things that maybe you don’t really want to do, and that’s chase these points because we’re down by 14 or down by 21. And then next thing you know, things snowball on you.
“We know where our strengths are,” the coach said. “We have to be able to run the football, we have to execute, and we have to take our chances in the passing game when they give it to us.”
Running the ball successfully probably is easier said than done because of the talent on the defensive front for Stephenville, led by Army commit Kolton Dearth.
He wears No. 70 in the middle of the defensive line. The senior is listed at 6’3”, 315 pounds.
When asked about the keys to success in this game, Rogers pointed out the obvious -- which is taking care of the football on offense and trying to get a takeaway or two on defense.
Outside of that obvious answer, the head coach identified two additional things the Badgers must do: succeed on third down offensively and eliminate the big play for Stephenville.
“To me, we have to convert on third down,” Rogers said. “We really need to convert on third down to stay on the field, and that means that you have to be somewhat successful on first and second down. You can’t find yourself in thirdand- longs all night because you’ll have a long night.
“Defensively, eliminating the explosive plays [is crucial],” Rogers said. “And I know that’s easier said than done against an explosive team, but we can’t have one-play drives … and if we can do that, I feel good about it.”
The Badgers came into this season with an attitude to prove the doubters wrong. They have done that by winning their first six games. The outside noise started to shift in their favor, and they weren’t viewed as the underdog.
This week, the team gets to fully embrace that attitude once again and work to prove people wrong.
The Badgers head into the contest as 19-point underdogs, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
Regardless of the outcome Friday night, Lampasas will learn a lot about themselves as a team and likely be better for having played this opponent. They should be better prepared as they head into the final regular-season game and possibly into the postseason.