Mules prepare for district matchup against Cape Central

Another week of football is on the horizon as the Poplar Bluff High School Mules football team gears up for their next opponent.

The Mules will hit the road Friday to compete in their first district matchup of the season against the Cape Central Tigers (1-1). Poplar Bluff's matchup history against Cape Central is 5-9, and they will need to be well-disciplined to add a game over to their win column.

The Mules fell short twice last season, 14-7 during the regular season and 22-16 in the third round of the Class 5 District 1 state tournament. Head football coach Dave Sievers said it’s going to be a tough challenge, but they are prepared to compete similarly to any other game on their schedule.

“Cape was able to get two wins over us last season, so I know it’s going to be a tough game,” Sievers said. “We're a little beat up right now, and we have a few players that are under the weather, but I'm hoping that all that blows over by Friday because we will need everyone ready to go. It’s going to be a big district matchup for us, and we need to be ready.”

Sievers said the Mules must play well to get the win over Cape Central. He’s aware of the Tigers’ explosiveness on offense and that they can give them trouble on the defensive end, so they must come prepared. He believes there are some holes in the Tigers’ defense, but it’s only a matter of exposing it during the game.

Last week, the Mules showed some improvement facing off against Valley View prior to their performance in week one. They couldn’t move the ball much within the run game but showed solid strides with their passing.

Starting quarterback Jay Edmundson threw 8/18 on 85 yards with one touchdown, and Mason West got some snaps in by throwing 7/10 on 46 yards. The receiving trio of Darius Graham, Romeoh Wontor and Hunter Clifford combined for 90 yards on 12 catches with one touchdown from Graham. Defensively, senior Logan Hite was the main guy off the line and led week two of the SEMO Conference with 18 tackles.

The Mules’ (0-2) defense held strong many times against Valley View, and defensive coach Jeff Mannon said it was a solid step up from how they performed during week one.

“The defense showed great effort,” Mannon said about the Mules' performance against Valley View. “I think kids are moving around well, and we got some kids stepping up and being leaders, which is great for us. We’ve had a few injuries, but mostly, we have a lot of kids trying to get their feet wet with playing both ways. Some of these guys haven't done that a lot, so they're starting to get into shape, and things are slowly coming together.”

Mannon said going up against Cape Central will not be an easy task but believes if the Mules' defense can stay disciplined, anything is possible regarding the game’s outcome.

“Cape Central has so many weapons, so our goal is to attempt to contain the players they tend to go to the most,” Mannon said. “We're going to play solid in the run game and try to get everything covered down and take away what they do most, which is kind of always our game plan. Keep them in front of us. We may bend, but we must not break to get this win.”