Corsicana —
Hutchinson and Navarro easily won their season openers last Saturday, but it’s the quality of their opponents that has Bulldog Head Coach Brian Mayper a little concerned.
While Navarro was dusting off Arkansas Baptist 40-0 on the road, the No. 10-ranked Blue Dragons were vanquishing No. 17 Coffeyville, 58-26, scoring 41 points in the middle quarters, including a 35-6 scoring binge.
(Hutchinson) played a really good team and it was a back-and-forth game in the first quarter and a half,” Mayper said. “Then their defense just shut down Coffeyville and Hutchinson’s quarterback had a big day.
“In the end, their first-game opponent was much more superior than the one we played and they still won by a huge margin.”
There’s obvious reason for concern for the No. 12 Bulldogs as they map a strategy to slow a Hutchinson offense that buried Coffeyville with 616 total yards and 30 first downs.
The triggerman of that explosion was quarterback Luke Barnes, a 6-2, 192-pound freshman who redshirted at Troy last season. Barnes set a school record with 459 yards passing and five touchdowns on 28 of 38 passing. Barnes also added 31 yards rushing and Hutchinson’s first touchdown.
Barnes has a wickedly good receiving corps that includes Miguel Johns (nine catches, 171 yards), Jatavius Stewart (8-149) and Antonio Johnson (6-42).
When the Blue Dragons want to take time off the clock, Barnes turns to running back Terrell Lane, a 5-11, 226-pound sophomore who stepped off 142 yards on 22 carries against Coffeyville.
“For both teams this week, it’s going to come down to who doesn’t make mistakes,” Mayper said. “Hutchinson has a great offense with a really good quarterback and it jumped on Coffeyville when it made mistakes while not making any of its own.
“Arkansas Baptist really never stopped us the other day, but we stopped ourselves a lot with busted assignments and bad penalties (three TDs were nullified by penalties). That’s one reason why (Hutchinson) is ranked ahead of us.”
Another reason could be a sophomore class that has Division I recruiters salivating. Perhaps the best of the lot are stationed in the middle of the Hutchinson defense. Defensive tackles Ben Bradley (6-3, 311) and Toby Johnson (6-4, 204), both Georgia natives, are strong and agile and could provide fits for Navarro’s offensive line.
Johnson accounted for 10.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and 50 tackles as a freshman, and Bradley added 39 tackles and 4.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
“Those two interior guys are big-time players,” Mayper said. “They’ve also got some talented safeties who run downhill and try smack you in the mouth. They are going to do a lot to stop our running game, so our passing game has got to be efficient.”
At least Mayper will have his starting quarterback on the field Saturday. Stump Godfrey was forced to miss the game when all the documentation from the University of Hawaii and New Mexico, his first two college stops, had not arrived in time to make him eligible for the Arkansas Baptist game. In his place, the trio to Alex Allen, James Jordan and Riley Toler played adequately as Navarro focused on its running game. Traylon Shead had 83 yards and a score and Tyler Middleton needed only seven carries to gain 72 yards.
The chess match of how to slow Hutchinson’s offense while ensuring his offensive charges are making the most of their opportunities intrigues Mayper.
“It’s a challenge to see what (Hutchinson) is going to do and then to adjust what we’re doing,” he said. “At the same time, we’re hoping to do things (Hutchinson) is not expecting and force them to make adjustments during the game. What I find exciting is the preparation for these games. Whether you are playing Arkansas Baptist or Hutchinson, the preparation is ultimately the same. Then it comes down to getting your players focused on executing what they’ve learned all week.
“We’ve been telling our kids just how good Hutch is and when they start watching film, it’s going to be rather obvious how good they are, especially those two defensive tackles with SEC offers. I told them to be proud of your win (against ABC), but this week is going to be a whole different level of play. If they want to win the whole thing this year, this is game two of 12 and they must raise their level of play. I’m eager to see how they will respond.”
Sports
Related Photos
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Daily Sun photo/Rob Ludwig The duo of Tarlandus Mitchell and Cameron Washington (26) combined for 57 yards on eight carries in Navarro’s 40-0 season-opening win over Arkansas Baptist.
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Daily Sun photo/Rob Ludwig Brian Mayper will have his starting quarterback on the field Saturday. Stump Godfrey was forced to miss the game when all the documentation from the University of Hawaii and New Mexico, his first two college stops, had not arrived in time to make him eligible for the Arkansas Baptist game.
Discussion
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