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Jasper’s one-game run didn’t last long, not after a loss to Greenfield last week that damaged its chances of repeating as district champions for the first time in school history.
A quick start combined with Greenfield’s power running game helped spur the Wildcats to victory over Jasper last week in the Class 1 District 4 opener for both schools at Jasper High School.
“We should have came out and played better on Friday night,” Dirks said. “We are a better team than what we showed.”
The Eagles, who knocked off Diamond in the final non-district game two weeks ago for their first victory of the season, need some help to claim at least a share of the district title, and they’ll look to bounce back Friday against visiting Liberal, which lost its District 4 opener last week against Lockwood.
Of immediate concern for the Eagles is shoring up the offense, which showed some consistency against Diamond before faltering last week against Greenfield. Dirks said he plans to attack Liberal “from every part of the field” offensively this week.
“We are going to work on being more aggressive this week,” Dirks said.
Liberal, after two seasons under Lewis Dunkeson, has a new offensive system with new head coach Greg Warlop, a former Pittsburg State University assistant coach. The Bulldogs, 3-5 overall this season, 2-2 in Spring River Valley Conference play, return, among six other starters, seniors Wade Sprenkle and Guillermo Rojo.
Sprenkle, by the way, is a returning All-Spring River Valley Conference first-team pick.
“They can move the ball pretty well,” Dirks confirmed.
Liberal’s offensive catalyst is junior quarterback Colten Selvey, who returns from last year’s state playoff team. After scoring only eight points in its first three games this season, Liberal outscored opponents 74-34 in three successive victories before losing to perennial conference contender Miller.
The Bulldogs, who used a traditional Wing-T style last year, switched this season to the pistol formation, which utilizes Selvey in a short shotgun with a running back a few yards behind him.
“Liberal likes to get to the edges,” Dirks said. “We need to take that away from them and control the line of scrimmage.”
The Bulldogs run out of a 3-4 defensive scheme, and Dirks said the Eagles need to “challenge their weak points” while continuing to attack from all points.
“We need to fly to the football with 11 Eagles in on every tackle,” Dirks said. “This is a very important game in districts with the winner keeping their playoff hopes alive.”
Jasper’s one-game run didn’t last long, not after a loss to Greenfield last week that damaged its chances of repeating as district champions for the first time in school history.
A quick start combined with Greenfield’s power running game helped spur the Wildcats to victory over Jasper last week in the Class 1 District 4 opener for both schools at Jasper High School.
“We should have came out and played better on Friday night,” Dirks said. “We are a better team than what we showed.”
The Eagles, who knocked off Diamond in the final non-district game two weeks ago for their first victory of the season, need some help to claim at least a share of the district title, and they’ll look to bounce back Friday against visiting Liberal, which lost its District 4 opener last week against Lockwood.
Of immediate concern for the Eagles is shoring up the offense, which showed some consistency against Diamond before faltering last week against Greenfield. Dirks said he plans to attack Liberal “from every part of the field” offensively this week.
“We are going to work on being more aggressive this week,” Dirks said.
Liberal, after two seasons under Lewis Dunkeson, has a new offensive system with new head coach Greg Warlop, a former Pittsburg State University assistant coach. The Bulldogs, 3-5 overall this season, 2-2 in Spring River Valley Conference play, return, among six other starters, seniors Wade Sprenkle and Guillermo Rojo.
Sprenkle, by the way, is a returning All-Spring River Valley Conference first-team pick.
“They can move the ball pretty well,” Dirks confirmed.
Liberal’s offensive catalyst is junior quarterback Colten Selvey, who returns from last year’s state playoff team. After scoring only eight points in its first three games this season, Liberal outscored opponents 74-34 in three successive victories before losing to perennial conference contender Miller.
The Bulldogs, who used a traditional Wing-T style last year, switched this season to the pistol formation, which utilizes Selvey in a short shotgun with a running back a few yards behind him.
“Liberal likes to get to the edges,” Dirks said. “We need to take that away from them and control the line of scrimmage.”
The Bulldogs run out of a 3-4 defensive scheme, and Dirks said the Eagles need to “challenge their weak points” while continuing to attack from all points.
“We need to fly to the football with 11 Eagles in on every tackle,” Dirks said. “This is a very important game in districts with the winner keeping their playoff hopes alive.”
