Lions feeling the effects of injuries, go into Beaver country banged up
It’s been two years since the Bismarck Lions and Glen Rose Beavers faced each other on the gridiron. In their last meeting, the Beavers got the best of the Lions beating them 51-14. Since then, the Beavers moved to the 4-3A where they won two conference titles. But now the Beavers are back in the 5-3A conference and the Hot Spring County and 5-3A rivalry has been renewed.
The Beavers and the Lions are set to face off Friday at 7 p.m. at Beaver Stadium. The Beavers enter the game with a 4-1 overall record and a 2-0 conference record having beat the Jessieville Lions (43-13) and the Genoa Central Dragons (42-0) in the first weeks of conference play. The Lions go into Beaver country with a 1-4 overall record and a 0-2 conference record having fallen to Genoa Central (40-33) and Jessieville (57-29) in conference play.
Normally, Bismarck head coach D.J. Keithley looks forward to taking on the Beavers but has mixed feelings about the game due to the mounting injuries for the Lions. “Right now we are pretty banged up,” Keithley said. “Last week we had just gotten back one of our better athletes in Bo Bates, just to see him go down again with a rib injury. We also lost another running back in Kalem Rorie to a possible ACL injury, so things are getting tough and we find ourselves scrambling for guys as we go against one of the more physical teams we play all year.”
The Lions face a tough Beaver defense this week. In conference play the Beavers have allowed only 241 yards combined between Jessieville and Genoa Central and one touchdown. Last week Glen Rose lineman Andrew Weatherford had seven tackles on defense with three tackles for a loss. Keithley knows that the Beavers will be tough up front on defense. “Our QB knows that he needs to be ready to get the ball out quick and know where his check downs are when we get pressured,” Keithley said. Last week, Lions quarterback Ian Smith had 143 of the Lions’ 290 total yards and three touchdowns. Keithley noted that the Lions’ offensive line showed a vast improvement last week against Jessieville and will relay on the offensive line going against the Beavers. “We were effective in moving the ball and giving our QB time in the pocket last week.”
Defensively, the Lions face an experienced Beaver offense. Glen Rose quarterback Wesley Launius completed 13 of 24 passes for 280 yards and had three passing touchdowns against Genoa Central. Launius also carried the ball six times for 12 yards and two rushing touchdowns. The Lions will also have to watch senior running back Ethan Taylor. Over the past two games, Taylor has rushed 33 times for 279 yards and two touchdowns. “Our primary focus this week is to stop the run,” Keithley said. If we can’t stop the run then we are just spinning our wheels worrying about their passing game.” Keithley added that stopping the run has been ailing the young Lions defense all year.