The School of the Osage Indians saw no shortage of dramatics last Friday.
The Indians made the trip up to Eldon for the Mustangs' Homecoming and got smacked in the face early, as before they could blink, they were down 21-0.
They started to close the gap in the second quarter, but stumbled in the final seconds by fumbling in the end zone and went into the half down 35-16.
The star for the Indians was Dylan Brown. After scoring the only Osage touchdowns in the first half, he returned a kickoff in the third quarter for a touchdown.
Brown gave Osage the spark it needed to start a comeback, and eventually the Indians battled back to within 52-49. However, an interception in the end zone snuffed out the comeback.
It was a game that could easily take a lot out of a team, but Osage will need to make sure that its energy levels are not depleted tonight when it faces California for the Indians' Homecoming game.
"Fortunately we finished the game really well, we played very well in the second half, so we can build on that," head coach Devin Johnson said. "I think our kids are going to bounce back fine like they have all year."
The Pintos are coming in after a rough matchup of their own Friday, as they were the seventh team in a row to struggle against the undefeated Blair Oaks Falcons, falling 42-15.
California will come into today's matchup with a 4-3 record and they have played well in the last few weeks.
The key to California's improvement has been sophomore quarterback Jacob Wolken, who became the starter after splitting time with Landon Mouse.
After an injury to Mouse that kept him from playing quarterback, though he continued to play wide receiver and free safety, Wolken was thrust into the role. The team struggled to find its identity around him for a couple of weeks, but the Pintos have started to hit their stride. The offense, built around Wolken, Mouse and running back Josh Woodruff, is starting to click. The Pintos knocked out four straight wins before they lost to Blair Oaks, so they will look to return to their winning ways against the Indians.
"(California is) a team that's adjusted, they've adjusted to the players that they have and they've adjusted to some injuries and they've gotten better throughout the year," Johnson said.
Johnson had particularly high praise for the young quarterback leading that improvement.
"He throws the ball with much more confidence than he did earlier in the season," Johnson said. "When I watched him in early games, he was a little indecisive. Maybe he didn't know his reads or maybe he didn't know where to put the ball exactly, but he was a little bit indecisive.
"You're seeing the past couple of weeks a quarterback that is playing with some confidence. ... When I talk about their team getting better offensively, that's because Jacob Wolken has gotten a lot better."
Despite two straight losses, the Indians are starting to figure things out offensively. The return of Dylan Brown to their lineup last Friday was huge and he will likely continue to be a big factor for the Indians offensively. Johnson wanted to ease him back into the lineup, but he proved he was ready to go Friday, so he'll be inserted into the starting lineup against California.
Zach Wheeler is also starting to work better with his receivers. He threw four interceptions against Eldon, but one was to close out the first half on a Hail Mary. He threw five touchdown passes and was close to a sixth when he threw the game-sealing interception to Owen Tamm. Despite the turnovers, Wheeler had an impressive second half, especially considering that he, too, is a sophomore.
"I think our quarterback has gotten better each and every week, just like theirs," Johnson said. "I think early on you'd see Zach get rattled when he'd make a mistake, but now he's buying into the fact that he's good, he's got confidence in his ability and he knows that the next play he's got to make the play no matter what happened before."
In a battle of sophomore quarterbacks, it may come down to which defense is more successful in making the opposing quarterback uncomfortable. The California defense has been spectacular this year, shutting out Hallsville a few weeks ago and holding a high-flying Southern Boone team to just 12 points the following week.
The Indians, however, are built around their aggressive defense. They thrive on speed and pressure, and that will be the path to success tonight.
"Our philosophy is the best pass defensive coverage you can have is a good pass rush," Johnson said. "If the quarterback's uncomfortable and the quarterback's getting hit, then that ball is not in the right spot or maybe the timing is off a little bit. So we're going to make sure we're putting pressure on the quarterback as well."
In a game where things look to be somewhat even on paper, the atmosphere could be a huge factor. This is where Osage will hope to see an advantage. After watching Eldon feed off of an energetic Homecoming crowd last week, Osage will get a chance to do the same this week.
"The key all week will be starting fast, because the last couple of weeks we just have not started the way that we wanted to," Johnson said. "For us offensively, when we move the ball and get first downs, you start to see the defense wear down a little bit, that's kind of what happened in the second half against Eldon. This week we want that to be a consistent effort."
For Johnson, Homecoming is a chance to show the former players where the team has come.
"It's a chance to celebrate the guys that were before us," Johnson said. "We really see Homecoming as a chance to show those before us what the program is doing and what state the program is in. Whether they played for me or coach (Dan) Henderson, it doesn't matter. We want them to be proud of the product on the field, how we're playing on the field and how we're conducting ourselves and the character we're showing."
School of the Osage hosts California - Updates on Twitter: @CDemocratSports, @LakeToday Sports, @PintosAthletics and @SOTOsports. Listen live online: pintosonline.com or cool1027.com. Watch live online: Lake TV
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