Lions enter conference play coming off bye week
The Bismarck Lions are coming off a bye week and heading straight into 5-3A conference play. The Lions, 1-2 overall, are coming off a 49-14 loss to close-county rivals the Poyen Indians. This week the Lions head to Genoa Central (2-1 overall) to open conference play against the Dragons.
“I feel good,” Lions head coach D.J. Keithley said about coming off the bye week and entering conference play. “It’s always nice to have an extra week to prepare for a team, but Genoa had the extra week to prepare for us as well.” The bye week not only gave the Lions an extra week of preparation, but also offered a chance for everyone to get healthy and ready for the Dragons. The Lions were able to return some players from quarantine that they didn’t have against the Indians. “We did get a couple of kids back from quarantine that we didn’t have last week,” Keithley said. “It [bye week] offered an extra week to get everyone healthy and ready.”
The Lions and Dragons have been conference opponents for two seasons and split the series 1-1. In 2019, the Dragons got the win over the Lions, 28-21, and clinched a playoff berth, the first for the Dragons football team. In 2018, the Lions had a dominating win over the Dragons 42-6. “Two years ago they [Genoa Central] came to our house pretty beat up and defeated as they were finishing up a disappointing year and it showed on the field,” Keithley said. “The next year we had to travel to their place and I believe the roles were reversed. We knew our chances were gone, but they were playing for the playoff berth and were clearly the better team that night.”
The difference between this year and the previous two seasons is that Friday’s game will be the first conference game for both teams. In the previous two seasons the Lions and Dragons squared off at the end of the regular season. “This year both teams go into the game with high hopes knowing that this game kicks off conference play,” Keithley said. “I expect to see both teams firing on all cylinders on Friday night.”
For the past two weeks, the Lions emphasis has been the importance of getting a win against Genoa Central in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. “We continue to emphasize to our players the importance of this game for our future aspirations to make the playoffs,” Keithley said. “We know that Genoa is a must win for us if we want to have a shot at making the playoffs.”
In their week two loss to Poyen, the Lions had tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter but were outscored 42-7 by the Indians. The Indians outgained the Lions 464-227 and were held to only 30 rushing yards. Offensively, Keithley says that the Lions will have to establish the run game so that the passing game can open up. “If anyone looks at our stats they’ll know that we are most successful throwing the ball, but the truth is, if we want to have a chance to beat Genoa, we must establish the run game so that the passing game can open up.”
The Lions will also have to protect the ball against the Dragons in Friday’s game. The Dragons were able to force four turnovers against their week two opponent, Lafayette County and got the win 45-12. “Obviously we need to hug the football,” Keithley said. He added that their biggest concern will be the offensive line and if they can give the quarterback time to find an open receiver to not have to force anything.
Defensively, Keithley says that the Lions will have to be able to control the line of scrimmage against the run. “If we can control the line of scrimmage I feel confident in our secondary,” Keithley said. “They [Genoa Central] love to pound the middle and once they have lulled your secondary they’ll pop one over the top.” Keithley said that the Lions will find themselves in trouble once the Dragons start getting frustrated with the Lions’ interior giving up five or six yards on every play and the Dragons start to cheat down.
Overall the Lions will have a tough match up with a Dragons team that has won it’s last two match ups. The Dragons started the 2020 season with a loss to Poyen, 408, and bounced back to defeat Foreman 28-6 and Lafayette County 45-12. The Lions started the season off with a win over Cutter Morning Star 27-26 but then fell to rivals Magnet Cove, 28-20, and Poyen 49-14. Friday’s kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Genoa Central.