CANADIAN at CHILDRESS

By Canadian Wildcat Sports Network

The No. 4 Wildcats will travel 100 miles due South tomorrow night to take on the 3A Childress Bobcats. Childress sits atop district 1-3A Division I with a 2-1 record on the 2014 season. The Bobcats opened the season with a surprising shut-out 14-0 win over reigning state champion Wellington.

The Wildcats are coming off a dominating win against Perryton last week. Canadian, led by QB Tanner Schafer, jumped out to an early 28-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.

Schafer leads all area 2A quarterbacks with 13 TD passes and is second in passing yards with just over 900. Four of the top ten in receiving yards in 2A are Wildcat receivers, including Braiden Galla and Sawyer Cook.

The Wildcats got a big boost last week with the return of Jr. Chance Cook. Cook rushed for 50 yards and 2 TD in his season debut. Head Coach Chris Koetting was pleased with his team’s performance against a challenging Perryton team. “I thought we came out ready to play. We got off to a great start and we were able to score often and early and we got them down. The first quarter really decided how the rest of that game was going to go,” said Koetting.

Childress comes in off of a 36-15 victory over 4A Lamesa (0-3). The Bobcats run a balanced attack multiple pro-style offense, which means they typically try to utilize their fullbacks and tight-ends. “I would say they’re more of a running team than a passing team, but honestly it’s really close. They might be about 50/50. They like to run the ball and mix in the pass as well.” Koetting said.

The difference maker for Childress so far has been sound defensive play, giving up only 7 points per game this season.

For the third Friday in a row, weather could be a major issue as heavy rain is expected in the area all day. ▪

□ Canadian (3-0) at Childress (2-1) – 7:30 PM Friday, Childress, TX

□ Players to Watch – Canadian – Chance Cook, Tanner Schafer, Braiden Galla                                                                        Childress – Bryce Bowman, Kaden Keys, Chazten Brown

□ Interesting Fact - The last time these two teams met was the 2007 Area playoffs. Canadian won 43-28 en route to their first state championship.

□ Keys To the Game – Canadian will look to continue their extreme up-tempo style of play in order to wear down a solid Childress defense. The Bobcats can run or pass, but they don’t do either one exceptionally well. Still, the Wildcats will need to be ready for a balanced attack.

□ Harris Ratings Pick – Canadian by 21

□ Our Prediction – 48-7