Lions to take first road trip of season

Jessieville hits the road for the first time this season as the Lions travel down Highway 70 to Dierks to face the Outlaws at Ayers Field.

The Lions (2-0) are looking to not become the third team that the Outlaws (2-0) have shut out this season. Dierks won its first two games this season against Horatio and Cutter Morning Star, 42-0.

To do that, Jessieville head coach T.J. Burk said that his team’ defense needs to focus on stopping Dierks’ triple-option offense.

“They’ve got weapons all over the field,” he said. “Their fullback is a big kid that’s a hard runner. Their quarterback can run, and then they’ve got two slots that they hand the ball to, and they’re all pretty good. So we’re gonna have to stop all of them on every play — what they do with the triple-option stuff.”

Burk said that with several players returning from last year, the Outlaws cannot be overlooked.

“They look pretty good on film,” he said. “We’ve played them the last two years, and they’ve got a lot of kids back from last year. They’re going to be a really good team.”

While Dierks may have a high-octane offense, the Lions have plenty of returning experience on offense as well. With senior receiver Charlie Davis, junior running back Matthew Huff and junior quarterback Carson Hair leading the offense, Burk is confident in his team’s ability to shine.

“We’re kind of at a point right now where all those guys are experienced, and we just feel comfortable with what we’re doing offensively,” he explained. “We feel like if the defense lines up to take something away, then we’ve got other weapons that we can utilize. It’s kind of what we do.

We just spread the ball around, and they’re going to give us the run, we’ll take the run; if they’re going to try to stop the run, we’ll throw it.”

Burk said that Hair has really come into his own as a quarterback and is a dual threat, being able to both pass and run the ball.

“He’s a dual threat, so that helps us out being able to run the football,” he said. “Give him some zone read concepts and being able to run or pass, makes it difficult on defenses.”

Burk said that there have been a few players with minor injuries, but he hopes to have everyone back for tonight’s game.

“We’ve got a few minor injuries — nothing serious,” he said. “So, hopefully we’ll have everybody back for Friday, and we’re going to have to play well to be able to have a chance to win this one.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.