MOKANE, Mo. - As the South Callaway Bulldogs prepare for the pursuit of a conference title, coach Zack Hess has noticed the rising quality of the Eastern Missouri Conference.
Off to a fast 2-0 start after a 39-0 romp at Milan last week, South Callaway goes to Wright City tonight to clash with the Wildcats in the EMO opener for both teams. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs secured an undefeated EMO title in their first year as a member in 2014, launching their playoff run to a runner-up finish in Class 2. South Callaway then took second place in the conference at 6-1 last year, with its only EMO loss coming to champion Mark Twain.
Hess expects another tight race for the conference title this season. He certainly won't let the Bulldogs dismiss Wright City, which tumbled to 0-2 after a 35-6 home loss to Southern Boone last week.
"We talk about this all the time - we really feel like our conference is getting stronger as a whole," Hess said. "We have to continue to keep working hard and not take anything for granted, not take any games for granted.
"It doesn't matter where we play them or who we're playing and just let everything else kind of take care of itself."
The Wildcats' spread offense - averaging 261 total yards per game - is steered by quarterback Sean McDonald, a 6-foot-1, 169-pound junior. McDonald has been on the mark on just 41 percent of his passes (18-of-44) for 290 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
McDonald's main target is junior wide receiver Devon Holmes (6-1, 165), who has a team-high nine catches for 149 yards (16.6 average) and two scores. Senior wide receiver Gavin Kohr (6-0, 150) has caught just one pass, but it went for a 64-yard touchdown.
Junior halfback Jaime Malta (5-11, 215) tops Wright City's running game with 134 yards (7.1 average) on 19 carries.
"The thing that jumps out the most is just the athletes that they have; they've always had good athletes," Hess said. "Their quarterback is very athletic, has a great arm. Their receivers are athletic and their offensive line is big.
"We've got to play well and just understand if we don't, if we fall asleep, that they could have a big play on any given play."
South Callaway's defense mastered Milan in last week's shutout, allowing only 131 total yards - all rushing. The Bulldogs have surrendered just 15 points through two games.
"The defense came out again with great energy," Hess said. "They did a nice job with their checks and their alignments, and did a great job anticipating what the plays were going to be and then playing really fast."
Hess stressed his defensive unit will have to be adept again tonight in identifying and reacting accordingly to the Wildcats' assortment of offensive sets.
"They're going to throw a lot of formations at us," Hess said. "We've got to be ready to defend multiple types of formations. It's just understanding the (defensive) game plan and understanding what they're trying to do with each formation."
Wright City has definitely labored on the defensive side, giving up a combined 80 points. The Wildcats - who feature a three-man front - have not forced any turnovers this season and have just one sack.
"They're an attacking defense, they shoot the gaps really hard up front," Hess said. "Their linebackers are physical, they get downhill really well, their outside backers are athletic.
"It's going to be hard to get out on the perimeter unless we block it well. Again, their DBs (defensive backs) are athletic too."
Wright City will contend with a South Callaway offense that is humming along at a high level, averaging 38.1 points and 322 yards rushing. Senior running back Bennett Hager gained 71 yards and had a pair of 9-yard touchdown runs last week as the Bulldogs amassed 329 yards on the ground. Five different players had rushing touchdowns.
Junior running back Dalton Stone led South Callaway with 82 yards and a 69-yard touchdown run, followed by junior quarterback Landon Horstman with 79 yards and a 1-yard score. Junior running back Kaden Helsel also had 71 yards and a 41-yard touchdown, while sophomore backup quarterback Peyton Leeper scored from 5 yards out.
"We spread the ball around to our guys and we did a nice job blocking up front," Hess said. "The offense played a really clean game."
Pre-game podcast: South Callaway Bulldogs Football Podcast [Wright City preview, Sept. 2, 2016]
Updates on Twitter: @FultonSunSports