By Canadian Wildcat Sports Network
The first game of the 2014 football season will likely be
one of the toughest tests the Wildcats will face all season. Bushland comes in
under new Head Coach Jimmy Thomas after the departure of Canadian native,
Steven Flowers.
Last season the Falcons went 9-3 overall (5-0 in District
play) and eventually lost to Wall in the 2A Division I Regional Quarterfinal.
Junior Kameron Mathis will take over the reins at Quarterback from 1-2A
Division I MVP and current preferred walk-on at Oklahoma State University,
Taylor Cornelius. Those are some mighty big shoes to fill as Cornelius threw
for over 9,000 yards in his 3 years as Bushland’s starter.
In the Falcons short history as a high school football
program, they have always been identified with the spread offense, nearly
identical to the Wildcat’s offense. The spread offense will still be the
Falcons’ basic offensive approach, but there is one element Coach Thomas hopes
will be different, tempo.
After Bushland's scrimmage with River Road last week, Thomas commented on his twitter account that the Falcons ran 39 plays in just 15 minutes.
The Wildcats, however, are no stranger to a fast paced style
of offense. Former Head Coach Kyle Lynch implemented the pro-style spread offense in 2007 en
route to Canadian's first State Championship.
In two pre-season scrimmages against 4A Borger and 2A
Booker, the Wildcat’s offense has been on display. Junior QB Tanner Schafer had
no problem connecting with several of his offensive weapons, including Sr.
Braiden Galla, So. Cameron Copley, and Jr. Sawyer Cook.
Schafer, like Mathis, has big shoes to fill of his own.
Former Wildcat QB Ben Arbuckle threw for 3,830 yards and 49 TD’s last season.
Canadian Head Coach Chris Koetting is pleased with the
Wildcat’s offensive play so far but the defense seems to have caught his
attention. “This is probably one of the fastest defenses we've ever had. Our
guys are real quick getting to the ball,” said Koetting. New Defensive Coordinator Andy Cavalier seems to have the Wildcat's defense firing on all cylinders early. ▪
□ Canadian (0-0) at
Bushland (0-0) – 7:30PM Friday, Falcon Stadium
□ Players To Watch – CANADIAN: QB Tanner Schafer, WR Braiden Galla, WR-LB Sawyer Cook, RB Marc Marquez, MLB Andrew Ezzell - BUSHLAND: QB Kameron Mathis, RB Jonathon Reyna, WR Teagan Shelton
□ Interesting Fact – Canadian hasn't lost a season opener in 20 years. Last loss in a season opener was Sept. 3 1993 to West Texas High.
□ Keys To the Game – This will be a fast paced game as both offenses employ a no huddle – air raid type of offense. Both teams have new starting QB’s and they will need to adjust quickly to the fast paced live game action. There’s no doubt that these two teams have abundant talent at the skill positions, but this game could quite possibly be won in the trenches. Canadian and Bushland offensive lineman average near 230 lbs and it might come down to which team can provide their QB with the most protection.
□ Harris Prediction - Canadian by 6
□ Our Prediction - Canadian
by 14
