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After Liberal eliminated Jasper from playoff contention last week, it would be easy to assume the Eagles would have little to play for this week against Lockwood.
Yes, the Eagles (1-7 overall, 0-2 in Class 1 District 4) are essentially playing for pride, but they are not about to lie down for Lockwood, not when a win Thursday could potentially knock Lockwood out of the playoffs.
Let’s break it down.
Greenfield is 2-0 and is the odd-on-favorite to capture the district championship with a victory over Liberal this week. Liberal and Lockwood are each 1-1, but if the Tigers beat Jasper they would hold the tiebreaker over Liberal.
Needless to say, it’s a must-win game this week for Lockwood, which is essentially rooting for Greenfield to beat Liberal in the other district contest.
Lockwood, despite losing 11 players to graduation, has steadily improved this season, thanks in large part to a potent passing attack. In short, the Tigers will try to spread the field against Jasper, which causes defenses to drop seven or eight defenders back in coverage.
Jasper, of course, has been working tirelessly this year to improve its passing game that proved so effective last season. Throwing the football, at times, has been tricky, but there have been signs of improvement, even if the results do not suggest it.
If everything goes accordingly this week, the Jasper Eagles want to showcase a balanced attack against Lockwood. Considering the Tigers run out of the spread offense, they possess the ability to put up points at a rapid pace.
Defensively, the Eagles plan to physically win at the point of attack, something they did not do well against Liberal last week.
After Liberal eliminated Jasper from playoff contention last week, it would be easy to assume the Eagles would have little to play for this week against Lockwood.
Yes, the Eagles (1-7 overall, 0-2 in Class 1 District 4) are essentially playing for pride, but they are not about to lie down for Lockwood, not when a win Thursday could potentially knock Lockwood out of the playoffs.
Let’s break it down.
Greenfield is 2-0 and is the odd-on-favorite to capture the district championship with a victory over Liberal this week. Liberal and Lockwood are each 1-1, but if the Tigers beat Jasper they would hold the tiebreaker over Liberal.
Needless to say, it’s a must-win game this week for Lockwood, which is essentially rooting for Greenfield to beat Liberal in the other district contest.
Lockwood, despite losing 11 players to graduation, has steadily improved this season, thanks in large part to a potent passing attack. In short, the Tigers will try to spread the field against Jasper, which causes defenses to drop seven or eight defenders back in coverage.
Jasper, of course, has been working tirelessly this year to improve its passing game that proved so effective last season. Throwing the football, at times, has been tricky, but there have been signs of improvement, even if the results do not suggest it.
If everything goes accordingly this week, the Jasper Eagles want to showcase a balanced attack against Lockwood. Considering the Tigers run out of the spread offense, they possess the ability to put up points at a rapid pace.
Defensively, the Eagles plan to physically win at the point of attack, something they did not do well against Liberal last week.
