Ranked Tribe aim to remain unbeaten in first conference road battle against Mt. Ida
The ranked and undefeated Poyen Indians (6-0 overall, 1-0 conf.) have made a statement in the state for Class 2A for the 2020 football season. The Tribe nation in Grant County continues to remain excited while Poyen is having one of the best and historic seasons for their football program.
This Friday, the Tribe will travel to face the Mt. Ida Lions ( 3-3, 1-0 conf.) in 5-2A Conference play for week 7 of Arkansas High School football.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Preston Stidman Field.
Last week the Tribe racked up the scoreboard for an impressive offensive display of execution for big plays in a 36-point victory against Cutter Morning Star 58-22 in their conference opener at Malvern National Bank Stadium, Indian Field.
The Indians are rolling productively and haven’t tasted defeat to remain unbeaten so far.
Commander-in-chief of Poyen Indian football head coach Vick Barrett commended his Tribe for another big win last Friday. Barrett knew the CMS would put up a fight with several skilled players— but he was pleased the Indians did what was needed to put the Eagles away to move to 6-0 overall.
Barrett is proud of the Indians’ play and feels they are headed in the right direction. He mentioned after last week’s dominant victory, it feels good to be 6-0 and undefeated.
Although the Indians are coming off another impressive victory, Barrett feels there is still room for improvement and Friday’s opponent —Mt. Ida will present a challenge and the Indians must be mentally and physically ready to compete in a hard environment on the road.
The Indians played with excitement and enthusiasm Friday and they’ll have to compete with the same approach against Mt. Ida.
Despite with a few mishaps last week against Cutter Morning Star, Barrett mentioned the Indians some things to clean up and prepare to play discipline football against Mt. Ida.
The Lions are coming off a big comeback victory at home against Magnet Cove 37-36 in their conference opener.
Last week, the Lions trailed Magnet Cove 20-8 at halftime, then overcame a 36-16 deficit, to pull off the victory. Barrett knows the Lions have momentum going into their matchup and the Indians will need to put on the gas pedal in full strides all four quarters for 48 minutes.
The Indians posted an impressive stat resume against Cutter Morning Star last week. In addition to their 36-point victory, the Tribe accounted for 546 total yards of offense with 407 yards rushing and 139 yards passing against Cutter Morning Star. The Poyen dynamic duo of quarterback Jaxson Carter passed for 139 yards to Brandon Sanchez for three touchdowns receptions to impact the passing scheme for Poyen. On the ground, Blake Rhodes rushed for a season-high 213 yards rushing with two touchdowns to continue a productive run game for the Tribe. Defensively, the Tribe was led by Anthony Nannemann and Colton Lowe
each with 14 tackles apiece and Wyatt Roacha posting 12 tackles with a sack to spark the Poyen’s defensive unit.
Barrett has felt the key factor to the Indians success is their defensive unit this season. Throughout the first few weeks in the season, the Tribe hasn’t allowed much offensive production. This Friday the Indians will have to make an impact in order to keep their unbeaten season rolling. Mt.
Ida is dangerous in their traditional offensive scheme—veer formation and Barrett knows the Tribe will be up to the challenge to stop the Lions’ run game.
From this point, every game is big and Barrett knows they must be ready for a tough fight going into the postseason.