MOKANE, Mo. - South Callaway head coach Zack Hess has served notice to his Bulldogs about the cold dose of reality that awaits them after tonight's game.
South Callaway returns home for the first time in three weeks tonight when it clashes with unbeaten, state-ranked Mark Twain in a showdown for the Eastern Missouri Conference championship. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
The surging Bulldogs - winners of five straight - are 6-1 on the season and 5-0 in the EMO after last week's 57-20 blitz at Montgomery County. The Tigers - who moved up a spot to No. 6 in this week's Class 1 state poll - are 7-0 overall and 5-0 in conference play following a commanding 46-6 home win against Bowling Green.
"It's going to be a very physical game," Hess said. "I told (the players) to go ahead and make an appointment for an ice bath Saturday morning, because it's going to be smash-mouth football at its finest."
South Callaway will be seeking its second EMO title in a row after winning it last year as a new conference member. Hess, though, noted he and his coaching staff have been cautious in trying to alleviate any pressure ahead of tonight's confrontation.
"I think the mood is good," Hess said. "We just stressed in our meetings (Monday) what a great opportunity this is; we also stressed that it's an opportunity for us to just play Bulldog football.
"It's just another game and we're going to prepare and do the best that we can, have a good week of practice and whatever happens, happens. ... We let the kids know what's at stake."
South Callaway's defense will take its turn in trying to curb Mark Twain's prolific running attack, which averages a stunning 450.3 yards per game and is triggered by senior Tyler Elledge (5-foot-10, 145 pounds). Elledge has already rushed for 1,539 yards (12.1 average) and 18 touchdowns this season.
It seems that only an injury can slow Elledge, and just briefly. According to Hess, Elledge separated his shoulder after picking up 108 yards and scoring a touchdown in the Tigers' 44-42 overtime victory Sept. 25 at Wright City. He returned in last week's win against Bowling Green and finished with 90 yards and a score on 16 carries.
"The thing that stands out with that kid is that he's just so fluid," Hess said. "He puts his foot in the ground and he can change direction, and accelerate faster than all of the boys out there.
"It's pretty impressive what he can do, and then he gets in the open field and there's no catching him. He just has that breakaway speed, that agility, change of direction that is hard to simulate in practice."
While Elledge will receive the majority of the Bulldogs' defensive focus tonight, Hess emphasized they can't ignore Mark Twain's other backs. Junior Terry Monroe (5-9, 190) has rushed for 505 yards (6.9 avg.) and 10 touchdowns, while fellow junior Brandon Hamilton (6-0, 180) has 336 yards (6.7 avg.) and five scores.
If that talent wasn't enough to worry about, South Callaway also has to concern itself with the Tigers' hefty and mobile offensive line anchored by junior tackles Finnigan Taron (6-3, 230) and Dalton Hill (6-2, 230).
"Not only are they big and physical, they have great feet," Hess said. "They get out, they pull (with blocks) almost every play, sometimes they pull up to three guys, which is pretty amazing.
"They get to the second level, sometimes they get to the third level. They get in your face, they want to knock you over."
South Callaway has been strong in defending the run this season, allowing just 109 yards on the ground per game. The Bulldogs gave up 225 yards rushing to Montgomery County, but most of that total came against backups in the second half.
"We've been very stout up front," Hess said. "It starts with our defensive line, they've done a good job of understanding their roles and their gaps, and their techniques.
"Our linebackers have done a good job of fitting off of them and running through the open windows."
Speaking of thriving running games, South Callaway generated 351 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground in last week's win. Sophomore quarterback Landon Horstman ran for three scores and senior quarterback Ethan Livengood and sophomore running back Dalton Stone both had two.
Senior running back Patrick Barnard paced the Bulldogs with 66 yards rushing on 11 carries and sophomore running back Kaden Helsel added 56 yards in seven attempts.
Hess said Mark Twain employs a defensive scheme similiar to South Callaway with three down linemen and five linebackers. The Tigers fill those linebacker positions with many of their skill players.
"We have to do a good job attacking horizontally and attacking vertically, just stretching out the field," Hess said. "We'll just try to work our base offense. We're not going to try and get too fancy and do a bunch of different stuff we haven't practiced a lot.
"We're going to keep it as simple as possible and just work to get those first downs and stay on the field. We've got to avoid those three-and-outs."
South Callaway hosts Mark Twain - Updates on Twitter: @FultonSunSports
Podcast