When one team is riding high after a few victories and getting ready to play a game most expect them to win, it is traditionally called a "trap game."
From an outside perspective, it looks like Rock Bridge's matchup tonight on the road against Capital City is a trap game for the Bruins. After all, the Bruins (2-1, 2-0 CMAC) are tied atop the Central Missouri Activities Conference with Helias, and the two teams will meet next week in Columbia.
Meanwhile, Capital City is 0-3 overall and coming off a 26-7 loss to Hickman in its conference opener.
"I'm really just focused on us and how we can get better," Cavaliers coach Joe Collier said. "We want to win the turnover battle again and get better on offensive, then see if that turns the tide."
Collier - who previously served as an assistant coach (defensive coordinator and linebackers) at Rock Bridge for 16 seasons - said the offensive playbook has been shortened and simplified in the hopes of hanging with the high-powered Bruins.
"It's a situation where we want to make sure everybody is on the same page, and once that happens, we can broaden our base a little bit," Collier said. "We want to get back to running some things that our guys are familiar with. You look around and think we can do some really dynamic things, but we never thought about doing what they're familiar with, and then broaden out a little bit."
Capital City is averaging just 8.7 points, 3.9 yards per play and 232.7 yards per game this season. The Cavaliers averaged 4.77 yards per carry in Week 1 against Warrensburg, but just 2.69 yards per carry during the last two weeks. Hickman was especially stout defensively in holding Capital City to 138 yards (2.7 yards per play).
Junior quarterback Hayden Carroll averaged just 6.5 yards per completion last week, with several receivers' routes stopping short of the chains on third down.
We've been focusing on efficiency," Carroll said. "We want to make sure that we gain yards on every play."
Last season, the Cavaliers and Bruins combined to rewrite the state's offensive record books in a 76-49 Rock Bridge win in Columbia. The combined 125 points were the 16th-most in Missouri State High School Activities Association history and 1,047 combined yards were the 14th-most in MSHSAA history. The Cavaliers rushed for 486 yards - the 23rd-most in a single game in MSHSAA history - but threw for just 52 yards.
Rock Bridge has showcased its offensive prowess the last 2 weeks, shaking off a 35-10 road loss to Staley in the opener with a 50-0 win against Smith-Cotton followed by a 49-34 road win against Jefferson City.
Senior dual-threat quarterback Nathan Dent has shouldered the load after the graduation of Missouri running back Bryce Jackson, who torched Capital City for 248 yards and four touchdowns last season. Dent scored six touchdowns last week against Jefferson City (four rushing) and five against Smith-Cotton (three rushing) after turning it over three times against Staley.
"Nate is one of my favorite high school players. It's going to be fun coaching against him," Collier said.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Adkins Stadium.