BROOKINGS The Brookings Bobcats will host another big game when they take on Tea Area at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday. But while the Bobcats and Titans come in with an identical 4-1 record, the real competition for Brookings continues to be within themselves.
Homecoming week is an exciting time for any football team, but it can also require an additional level of focus. While Brookings head coach Brady Clark admitted it can be easy to become distracted, he said his team has done a good job blocking out the noise ahead of Fridays showdown with the Titans.
Honestly, with homecoming week being as busy as it is with a lot of great things going on, theres also a lot of distractions, Clark said. The focus has been important to us, making sure were staying locked in and doing what we need to do on and off the field. Thats been a big focus this week, just the mental game and making sure were doing whatever we need to do to get ready for Friday night.
Part of that process is returning to health. The Bobcats were banged up in last weeks 26-21 loss to Sioux Falls Roosevelt, going in without starting running back Will Conrad and losing quarterback Gavin Anderson and nose tackle Josiah Thomas throughout the game.
Clark said his team has recovered from some of the injuries in practice this week and figures to get Anderson and Conrad back this week. While the Bobcats have been shorthanded, Clark emphasized they are no different than any team at this point in the season.
Everybody is dinged up. Were not the only team dealing with injuries, Clark said. Gavin is back this week and Will will be back maybe in more of a limited role, but theres good and bad with everything but for the most part, were pretty healthy.”
The injuries also forced several players to step up and play a role in last Fridays game. Even in defeat, Clark was impressed with how the Bobcats played resiliently and continued to make strides especially in the passing game led by backup Jones Huntimer.
It took a good jump. Jones came in and did a nice job, Clark said. It was something we knew that Jones could do but Gavin can as well. I was just happy to see our receivers running what they were supposed to be running and really fighting for yards after the catch. Its a big benefit boost for us and now its kind of like, you see we can do it. We did it against a [Class 11AAA] team. Theres no reason we cant do more of that week in and week out.
With Anderson back in the fold, the Bobcats will be close to full strength and look to utilize their new-found balance when they host the Titans on Friday night.
Tea began the year with a 39-29 loss to Spearfish but has won its last four games by an average of 33 points. While standout offensive lineman Jacob Jongejeugd leading the way, the Titans are a physical team that can take control of a game.
Theyve got a lot of really good athletes and they do a good job of letting them the football, Clark said. Defensively, they play a lot of man [coverage] because they have the athletes to do it and theyre a physical team. So just having the skill level they have and the physicality they have, it will be a good battle for us.
Clark said the key to beating the Titans will be to limit their turnovers and make sure they get Tea off the field on third down. While establishing the run will be important, so will continuing to develop in the passing game to keep up with the high-powered Titan offense.
But Clark is optimistic in his teams ability to succeed on offense and defense and build on the strides made in last weeks loss to the Roughriders.
If we get to a point where we become more balanced offensively, I feel like we can be at a point where we can do that, Clark said. …We just have to be clean on special teams and take points where we can get them and execute all three phases of the game.
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