For the second straight week, Poplar Bluff is hosting a big, athletic team from St. Louis, only this time it should start on time.
Mules head coach David Sievers expects Riverview Gardens to run a similar offense to Sumner with Transportation and Law, which Poplar Bluff beat 50-8 last week after the Mules scored 28 points in the first quarter.
"I don't anticipate this one being over by halftime like the last one was. This is a game where we are going to have to play and just see what happens," said Sievers, who added that he appreciated the fans' patience with the game starting nearly two hours late.
"Anytime you have fast, athletic kids on the other side of the ball it is a concern because one mistake and you are watching those guys run away from you."
Sievers also anticipates a similar plan on offense, including rotating quarterbacks Josiah Kilgore and Steven Pierce, who both had productive games against Sumner.
"We want to run zone and we want to run stretch. That is basically what our offense is built around. If we can get those two plays going, that's going to open up our passing game and that is basically why Josiah is in there. He runs the read and the power read really well, and that just opens things up," Sievers said. "If you can catch a team that is not real disciplined or if you can catch a team that over-pursues stuff, it is a really tough play to stop."
Kilgore was 2 for 3 passingfor 26 yards and a touchdown while Pierce was 4 for 8 passing for 46 yards and three touchdowns. Kilgore also ran for 119 yards on six carries and a touchdown, and caught two passes for 35 yards and two more touchdowns, making him Poplar Bluff's leading rusher and receiver.
Sievers said Kilgore will likely start again this week, but Pierce will get his reps.
In concentrating on stretch and zone runs, including regularly successful zone reads, Poplar Bluff ran for 253 yards on 33 carries for 7.67 yards per carry as a team.
Kilgore led the way with nearly 20 yards per carry, and Isaiah Johnson averaged 10.78 yards after going for 97 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
In watching the game tape, Sievers said he saw a mixed bag of good and bad things.
"We did some things we've been working on, saw a lot of stuff we have to get better at. We are not anywhere close to where we need to be up front. We are having trouble playing pitch and catch sometimes," Sievers said. "We spent a lot of time this week working on different pass combinations and stuff. The first game of the season we just saw a lot of stuff that needs to be cleaned up. Some of our route running and the receivers blocking is some of the stuff we've been focusing on a lot this week."
Riverview Gardens lost to Belleville West 41-16 last week. Riverview, like Sumner, was down 28-0 after the first quarter. The Rams trailed 41-0 at halftime before scoring a touchdown in the third and fourth quarter.
"I just told the kids it was really important we get after them early with them having a long bus ride and being late and everything, and we did that. I think for the most part, we got after them pretty quick and set the tempo," Sievers said. "I'm starting to figure this bunch of kids out. They are kind of squirrly, but when they're squirrly they usually playing harder."
The Poplar Bluff defense allowed 23 total yards of offense in the first half to Sumner, and forced four turnovers in the game.