Ted LePage doesn't think his team has reached its full potential.
And that's OK with the Jefferson City head coach.
"I think we're growing each week, and that's something you like to see as a coach," LePage said Wednesday. "You don't want to plateau, you don't want to peak too early. I don't think we're anywhere close to that."
The Jays (3-1) will look to keep the momentum in their favor when they go for their third straight win at 7 p.m. today against the Rogers (Ark.) Mountaineers (1-1) at Adkins Stadium.
"They are just a very good, fundamental football team that's going to be a really worthy opponent," LePage said. "This is as fundamental of a football team, as well-coached football team, that we've probably played to this point.
"That's not disparaging anybody, but this team is going to do what they do and they're going to do it very, very well."
Rogers, coming off a 17-14 loss to Claremore last week, features a triple-option offense that accumulated over 500 yards in a 35-21 win against Siloam Springs in the season opener.
Bryan Grigsby, a 6-foot, 208-pound fullback, turned a lot of heads in the Week 1 win by breaking the Arkansas high school single game rushing record with 446 yards to go along with five touchdowns.
"The big thing is, you have to maintain - stop him before he gets going," LePage said. "It seems like when he gets through the first level of defenders, there's no stopping him. Our first level has to stop him, or he is going to cause you headaches once he gets in the second and third level."
Rogers was limited to 248 yards of offense - 212 on the ground in the Mountaineers' loss to Claremore. Grigsby had 23 yards rushing and had one run that netted more than 10 yards.
Cole Evans, a senior, will get the start under center for Rogers, which attempted one pass in its season opener.
Justice Thompson, Sage White and Jeb Brian will all play in the slot, while Joseph Sultemeier is listed as a running back.
"They are a true triple-option team and they're doing a good job," LePage said. "They spread it out to all their backs. They have their fullback, their quarterback, or a pitch back that can carry it on every snap."
Defensively, the Mountaineers have limited opponents to 38 points through two games while using a 3-4 formation.
"They don't give up big plays," LePage said. "They rally to the football and they tackle the ball really well."
LePage said Jefferson City will have the option of running a power formation or the spread offense, which the Jays started the season with.
Jefferson City stayed with the power option last week during its 34-0 win against DeSmet and the Jays accumulated 351 yards - 260 on the ground - in doing so.
"We have a plan A, we have a plan B, we have a plan C," LePage said. "Our main plan is to go into the game and win. If we can do it with power, we have that offense ready to go. If we need to get out of it because they're controlling it, we can put the spread in. We've played it all summer, we've played it all spring, we played it in two games. We're not afraid to use the spread, either.
"Right now we're coming down to, we're going to do what our players are having success with."
While the Jays rolled past DeSmet in Week 4, they also lost a key player to injury. Ripken Dodson is expected to miss at least four weeks after dislocating his elbow late in the game.
"We're hoping to get Ripken back before the end of the season," LePage said. "Knowing him, that will happen."
The senior receiver has seven catches for 114 yards and has played a big role as a blocker since the Jays switched offenses in the second half of Week 3's game against Hickman.
"Ripken is not only a good football player, but he is one of those smart football players," LePage said. He's not afraid to speak up and let everybody know what's happening. He's still that guy that's standing right behind his position."
Denzel Wilson, who has sat out since the second half of the Hickman game with a leg injury, is expected to return tonight. The senior running back has 128 yards rushing on 40 carries this season.
"He's still probably not 100 percent, but he's getting closer," LePage said. "He's still not making the cuts and the moves like he had prior to the injury, but he's pretty close and I think we'll see more and more of him as time goes on."
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