Bulldogs, Bears collide with seasons at stake
For Strong, their season comes down to one game.
Tonight, Strong travels to Bearden for an 8-2A showdown that will determine who will be the league’s final two seeds for the playoffs.
Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Strong (1-8, 0-4) enters on a two-game losing streak, while the Bears (2-6, 1-3) have lost three straight.
If the Bulldogs win, they would potentially force a three-way tie with Parkers Chapel and Bearden for the last two playoff spots pending other league results, although the Trojans already have a spot nailed down due to points from their win at Strong last week.
But for the Bulldogs to qualify for the playoffs, they must beat the Bears by more than five points in order to finish second in total points and give them the No. 5 seed with Parkers Chapel being the No. 4 seed.
However, a loss or a win by fewer than five points would mean the Bulldogs would miss the postseason for the third straight year, while the Bears would be the league’s No. 4 seed with Parkers Chapel being seeded fifth.
“It’s a crazy scenario,” Strong coach Sirl Wright said. “I’m just telling them to think of it like we’re already in the playoffs. That’s how I’m treating it.”
It’s been a tough season for the Bulldogs, and Wright said keeping the team’s confidence up has been a tough chore considering the schedule they have played.
“It’s a difficult situation because we’ve won only one game this year,” Wright said. “With us, Bearden and Parkers Chapel, it’s a struggle and a grind to keep kids motivated when we have such a dominant conference as we do. Junction City, Fordyce and Hampton are all pretty much in the top 10, if not the five in 2A.
“We’ve been battling through the gauntlet, and
it’s a tough deal to motivate them, especially our team because we’ve played some of the top teams in 3A and 2A, and with that, the morale is always knocked down and you’ve always got to find some type of edge to keep them motivated, because if you don’t keep them motivated, it’s pretty much an easy matchup for the opposing team simply because they don’t have any morale.”
Keeping everyone on the same page and not looking ahead to the possible start of basketball is another topic Wright has discussed with his team.
“That’s another beast to conquer, because some of them are trying to turn that page,” Wright said. “When you don’t have a lot of success, you’ve got to keep them all focused and on the same page. It’s a tough task to keep them all centered and on that same page and that same team aspect of motivation. I started with the seniors, and I met with them over the weekend to really help with the leadership.
“Even though we brought some of the freshmen up, they can’t comprehend the factor of this may be the last game for some of their teammates in high school, so we have to bear down and play hard and focus in.
“We’ve got to build that as a family environment so we’ll all be on the same page to fight together.”
As far as the Bears are concerned, the Bulldogs will have to contend with their showgun offense.
“They run a unique offense,” Wright said. “They have a base of a traditional double-wing offense, and they run it out of a pistol set, so that’s a unique thing. You don’t see many people doing that. Most teams like that will be under center and they’ll run the triple option at you, but they run their offense out of the pistol. Defensively, they run a 4-4, but sometimes they’ll vary it.”
Adding to tonight’s game is that the Bulldogs will be competing against their former head coach Greg Anthony, who is now an assistant coach for the Bears.
“They mentioned it a lot at the beginning of the year, but they haven’t mentioned it yet this week,” Wright said. “I’m pretty sure they’re going to have something in the tank once they see him simply because he was their former coach.”
Traditionally, the Bulldogs and Bears have ranked as two of the league’s most athletic teams, and Wright said the teams are very close to each other in that aspect.
“I would say we’re pretty even,” Wright said. “I feel like we’ve got a little more team speed, but overall, I feel like we’re pretty even. I think Bearden has been in more competitive games, and they’ve been pretty consistent in their efforts.”
If Strong is to win on the road, Wright said the Bulldogs must find a way to slow down the Bears’ running attack and not have any miscues.
“The big thing is to stop their run and don’t turn the ball over,” Wright said. “We need to execute on offense. It’s pretty simple. It’s just who wants it more. I think that’s what it’s going to boil down to.”