MOKANE, Mo. - As the South Callaway Bulldogs ponder the potential and proximity of the opportunity, head coach Tim Rulo thinks back to predecessors and their groundwork.
Unbeaten and third-ranked South Callaway seeks its first-ever chance to play for the ultimate football prize - a state title - when the Bulldogs visit the Palmyra Panthers for a Class 2 semifinal matchup Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is 2 p.m. at Palmyra Middle School.
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[https://twitter.com…">@FultonSunSports on Twitter]"There are so many teams, historically, at South Callaway that would love to be doing this," Rulo said. "... The success that we've had this season is very much based on the hard work of all the past teams.
"They kept slowly raising the bar, even though it might have been 10-2 (records) four years in a row, or 6-5 before that, or even the seasons that weren't as good. ... You're leaving a legacy so the next class can keep building on top of that. What's been so impressive, and what I've been so humbled by - in this experience - is simply the idea that this class is getting to see the fruit of all the hard work of the classes before that, and the fruit of their own labor."
The Bulldogs (13-0) reached this point with a decisive 21-8 quarterfinal victory at fourth-ranked East Buchanan last Friday. The Panthers (9-4), meanwhile, advanced by holding on for a 14-7 upset of sixth-ranked Lutheran North on Saturday in Palmyra.
Palmyra staggered into district play with a 5-4 mark after dropping its final two regular-season games. However, the Panthers have produced four straight playoff wins, outscoring their opponents by a combined 121-13 margin to make it to the state semifinals for the sixth time in school history and the first since the 2000 season.
"(Head) coach (Kevin) Miles and his staff do a phenomenal job of putting their guys into position to be successful," Rulo said. "Here in districts and in the postseason, they've got a really good formula going.
"They're really tugging on the right heartstrings, getting their guys to play with a lot of emotion - playing really passionate. They're taking care of the football and they're playing great defense."
Palmyra prevailed against Lutheran North despite being limited to minus-3 net yards in the second half and being outgained by almost 200 yards overall, according to a game story in the Quincy (Ill.) Herald-Whig. Junior fullback Travis Harvey accounted for the Panthers' scores on touchdown runs of 10 and 4 yards.
Palmyra's offense features plenty of jet sweeps, dives and traps, but both of its scores last week came out of the split-back veer.
"That seems to be the offense that coach Miles feels the most comfortable with, maybe the one he has the most experience with," Rulo said of the veer. "From what I gather, that's an offense that maybe he ran at other schools."
Junior quarterback Ben Cheffey directs the Panthers' offense. In Palmyra's 36-0 win at North Callaway in the District 6 semifinals, Cheffey was 6-of-12 passing for 103 yards and connected with senior wide receiver Skyler Cline for three touchdowns.
Cheffey's other primary targets are senior wide receiver Mason Franklin and junior tight end Will Obert.
Harvey picked up a game-high 107 yards against the Thunderbirds and powered his way for touchdown runs of 1 and 4 yards.
"He's just a hard runner, I just love his lean," Rulo said. "He's thick, he's got good speed, just good ball security."
Palmyra will have to confront a pestering South Callaway defense that has caused fits for foes all season. The Bulldogs curbed East Buchanan's no-huddle, quick-tempo offense - holding it 42 points below its season average - and came away with four interceptions.
As always, Rulo stressed South Callaway's defense will need to quickly identify the Panthers' offensive sets and locate their skill players.
"We've got to have formation recognition, knowing where their playmakers are, knowing what their main plays are - figure out where we need to fit up for that," Rulo said. "We've got to tackle the dive. They'll run outside veer, inside veer, but we've got to tackle the dive."
On the defensive side, Rulo noted junior Matt Frankenbach stands out on a Palmyra unit that has logged shutouts in two of its playoff wins. Frankenbach missed some playing time earlier this season due to injury, but has moved from noseguard to a middle linebacker position since his return as the Panthers have shifted from a 3-4 defensive look to a 4-3 scheme.
"He is a force," Rulo said of Frankenbach. "You're talking about a guy I think is 6-(foot)-4, 220 (pounds), maybe 240, and he is literally running like a banshee at the football. That's hard, because you have that kind of momentum moving and that kind of muscle and strength, and size moving, it's hard to block him. He's really the X-factor for them."
South Callaway amassed 366 yards of total offense against East Buchanan, including 237 rushing, but Rulo was concerned about the Bulldogs' erratic blocking up front. South Callaway was also flagged for three holding penalties.
"I want to see more consistency and physicality in sustaining blocks," Rulo said. "(Holding calls) are not like us, so we need to work on that. I want to see us be physical, both on the perimeter and in the inside with our linemen."
Gametime coverage:
KFAL-AM 900 will broadcast Saturday's semifinal, with the pregame starting at 1:30 p.m. The game will also be streamed live on the radio station's website, kfalthebig900.com.
And follow @FultonSunSports on Twitter for updates during the game.