The season continues to roll on for the Versailles Tigers.
After playing the guest to two Lake-area Homecoming games - and losing to Osage and Eldon by a combined score of 114-13 - Versailles has yet another tough opponent on the slate this week in the Hallsville Indians.
The Indians (5-1) have had a strong season and are tied for second in the Tri-County Conference at 3-1, with their only loss coming two weeks ago to the California Pintos. Despite the fact Hallsville managed to give the Blair Oaks Falcons their only loss of the season so far, the Pintos romped the Indians two weeks ago, 68-14.
Last week, Hallsville took out their frustration from the loss on the Warsaw Wildcats, shutting them out 61-0. Hallsville has shown they can rack up points with the best of them. Aside from the California game, they've scored at least 34 points in each game this season, and they're averaging almost 41 points a game, including the match against the Pintos.
It will probably prove to be another tall task for the Versailles' defense, especially since quarterback Joey Forge commands the offense. The Tigers usually play a bit better against run-oriented offenses, but Hallsville has a diverse playbook that calls for a relatively large amount of passing to stretch the field for its primary running backs, Skyler Creed and Austin Cochran.
However, Versailles may have rediscovered one of its better weapons in their loss to Eldon. Senior running back Johnathan Cunningham had struggled all season with rough games and an inability to find the same seams in opposing defensive lines last year that made him one of the few threats on a young Tigers offense. Last week, though, he had his first 100-plus yard game this season and sustained Versailles on many drives, coming up clutch in drive-extending opportunities. Unfortunately in the end, Versailles didn't have quite enough of those, but it may have provided Cunningham with the lift needed to clash with a tough opponent this week.
The Tigers defense also needs to work on forcing turnovers if they want to stay competitive in these kinds of games. Versailles came up with three turnovers against Warsaw three weeks ago, but were empty against Eldon and Osage.
After this week, Versailles will close out their season with games against winless Southern Boone and 5-1 Blair Oaks. A win against Southern Boone would likely give them a No. 7 seed in the district tournament above the Eagles.
Versailles hosts Hallsville - Listen live online: lakeradio.com