Prep Football: Dogs look to keep posteason hopes alive
Ask Al Way to put his finger on the pulse of southern Illinois football this year and you might not get a reading.
The longtime Harrisburg head coach said football is such a hard read around the area this year, but one team that seems to have a pulse his is own Bulldogs, who have recorded back-to-back wins and are now .500 overall and 2-1 in Southern Illinois River-To-River Ohio play.
With only three games left on the docket, Harrisburg travels to Murphysboro Friday night, looking to keep their playoff hopes alive with their third straight win.
"The scary thing about Murphysboro is they put 40 (points) on Herrin and then they turn around last week and score six against West Frankfort. Football is such a hard read this year. You start to compare scores and you really can't do that. Massac County beat Nashville and then Nashville turns around and beats Carterville. It doesn't make any sense, but I think we're getting better. I like our improvement the last couple of weeks. Our competition is definitely going to step up the next three weeks and our offensive line will be challenged this week because Murphysboro will put nine in the box and just challenge us."
As much as Way knows the Red Devils will challenge Harrisburg, the Murphysboro offense is just as much a concern.
"Murphysboro is a scary team simply because of the offense they run," Way said. "They have really good skill people, their wing backs are really fast and run a lot of jet motion. If you lose containment, it can turn into a big play immediately. So, defensively, they cause you a lot of problems, it'll be a tough week for us defensively."
After unraveling in the second half Week 4 at West Frankfort, Harrisburg rebounded quickly and put the clamps on Massac County 61-6 and then knocked off Benton last week 42-7.
As well as the defense has played and because of the problems Murphysboro poses, Way said there will be some tinkering with the Harrisburg defense this week leading up to Friday night's tilt.
"The unfortunate thing is we have to change some things this week and we're getting such a good effort from everyone. Our down lineman are playing better, having Jordan Bartok back at linebacker really solidifies our defense. Our secondary just did a fantastic job against Benton. We wanted to keep (Hamilton Page) No. 7 in the box and our secondary did a great job of coverage. We've had two good weeks in a row, we just need to have another one.
"But, we have to change some personnel because of defensive alignment. You hate to do it because there have been some kids that have been playing well for us, but maybe don't fit into what we are trying to do. Our base defense just does not match against what they are doing."
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register and Eldorado Daily Journal. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.