The Versailles Tigers have struggled through injuries for the last few weeks.
Two weeks ago, Versailles started their backup quarterback, David Connor, for the hobbled Duane Danner. The following Monday, Connor was hurt in the JV game.
Head coach Broc Silvers thought he had just rolled his ankle, but Connor broke his foot and will be out for four weeks.
Danner was able to start last week against Hallsville, but was still limited by his ankle. With Connor out, there is no backup option at quarterback for the Tigers and they're missing a starting cornerback. Despite that, they beat Hallsville for their third win of the season.
Danner coming back was extremely important for Versailles.
"We didn't know exactly how ready to go he'd be, but he was our only option," said Silvers. "He was big coming back."
With Connor out, Dalton Schmidt becomes more important on both sides of the ball. Because Danner's ankle still isn't 100%, they have to rely a little bit more on the running game. Schmidt responded by rushing for 133 yards and two touchdowns. He also had to change positions on defense. He's primarily played linebacker this season, but he's shifted to safety with Connor out. Kooper Wilson then shifted from safety to corner.
With all of those changes, Versailles held Hallsville to 18 points and they'll need another strong defensive performance against Southern Boone this week.
Southern Boone put up 67 points on Warsaw last week and have played well offensively all year. Its biggest strength is on the ground. In the backfield they have a two-headed monster in Laron Wallace and Tanner Smith. Wallace is their speed threat, while Smith is their grinder.
The Eagles also have a great quarterback in Dane Bossert who can run the option and pass. Versailles will need to play sound defensively in against the run and tackle well if they want to pull out another victory.
"It's gonna come down to conditioning and tackling. Tackling in space," Silvers said. "If we miss one tackle Wallace will go the distance...so we're gonna have to make sure we tackle well and then rally to the football and get hats there."
Defensively, Southern Boone is aggressive and hard-hitting. With a slightly hobbled quarterback with no backup, Versailles will need to make sure to be smart with their senior quarterback.
"We explained to him, don't take too many risks," Silvers said. "Don't try to roll out and try to get one yard, try to get out of bounds, do those kinds of things, don't try to run over anybody. It's almost like having an NFL-style quarterback, you wanna make sure he slides and does things like that to manage the game, because we don't have another option right now and so that's a scary situation going into district play."
Versailles cannot afford to get to gutsy with Danner, because there is no one behind him. The Tigers will need to continue to run the football well if they want to have a chance in this one. They are thin at a lot of positions, so if someone gets hurt they'll be in a tough spot.
With the strong running game of Southern Boone and their overall team aggression, Versailles will need to play smart and make sure they don't lose another key piece as the season winds to a close.
Versailles at Southern Boone - Updates on Twitter: @SBooneHS and @MCR2Schools
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