Published: September 25, 2008 08:07 am         

Perry looks to right the ship

After a shutout victory against Caney Valley last week, Perry looks to even its record this weekend.

The Maroons won, 31-0, against the Trojans (1-2) and will host Fairview on Friday in their District 2A-1 opener.

The two squads met last season with Fairview (1-2) coming away with a 26-0 victory. But after last week’s resounding Maroon triumph, coach Craig Hixon said this could be the beginning of a change for Perry (1-2).

“I can see this as a pivot point,” he said. “It’s a big win, a big shutout. It’s like they finally came together and realized what they can do.”

It took a few games, but Perry is getting to where it needs to be, Hixon added.

“Things are finally coming together for us,” he said. “(The players) are finally starting to understand the philosophy of how we’re going to run things, the tempo of practice, minimal mistakes and things like that.”

However, Hixon said the team has a lot of room for improvement in the coming weeks.

“We’ve got to get better at blocking on the perimeter, being able to stay outside and run the ball wide,” he said.

“But we did a great job with the inside game last week.”

Other than a few bumps and bruises, no one new has been injured, Hixon said.

Bouncing back

After a 42-16 loss to second-ranked Tonkawa last week, Pawnee fell to a losing record but its goals are still intact.

Class A No. 13 Pawnee will play Yale (0-3) on Friday. In light of last week’s loss, coach Todd Beer said the Black Bears (1-2) are down but not out.

“We’ve still got both feet ahead of us,” he said. “We still have a shot. District championship is probably out of the picture, but we still have to finish as high in the district as we can, so we’ve just got to take it one game at a time and try to get into playoffs.”

Despite the big loss, Beer said the team is progressing well so far.

“Offensively, we’re getting better,” he said. “It’s just a new scheme. We’re working on physical things, trying to be a little more physical.

“Defensively, we’re trying to play at the lower pad level, getting off blocks a little bit better. That’s our focus — basically, ourselves. We’re just trying to improve some of our techniques.” Beer added that the Black Bears are finally almost back to full health.

District road begins

Class 4A Cushing High hosts Tecumseh on Friday.

The Tigers (1-2) fell, 29-14, to Class 3A Perkins-Tryon High last week. CHS will meet its first 4A opponent of the season when the Savages (1-2) come to town. Last season, THS defeated Cushing, 28-14.

     

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