The Indians will face Harris Rankings No. 3 Greenwood today, which for all intents and purposes, is the district championship. The Indians, ranked 16th, moved to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in district after the 88-14 victory over Snyder on Oct. 24.
The Greenwood matchup will determine several things according to Athletic Director Greg Poynor.
“It is very important to win for a couple of reasons,” Poynor said. “First, it should be for the district championship. The district championship gets a much easier path in the playoffs for the first three rounds. Secondly just to keep our momentum going for the playoffs.”
The Indians do not want a repeat of the loss to the Rangers last year.
“We’re preparing for Greenwood and all the schemes that they run,” senior linebacker Ryan Werdenberg said. “We can fix what we did wrong and use this game to give us momentum in playoffs.”
The Indians have met several large schools in the preseason.
“We lost to teams that can go far,” senior center Jorey Gutierrez said. “West Plains went to the state semi-finals (last year). We can learn from our mistakes pre-district and grow as a team.”
Junior wide receiver Jaycen Robledo has 428 receiving yards this year. Robledo said he looks up to senior receiver Logan McCormick.
“I try to model my game after Logan’s because he is really quick and good at getting open quickly,” Robledo said. “He inspires me because he has a good attitude whether he gets the ball or not.”
Gutierrez said playing at home gives the Indians an advantage over Greenwood even if the Indians started slowly.
“All the games we have lost were away games because the guys don’t want to take a trip away, and they get unfocused,” Gutierrez said. “We are four years undefeated at home. Our issues are not that we don’t know what to do. It’s us not preparing.”
As the end of district approaches, senior quarterback Dominick Higgins continues to prepare to get the district championship.
“Dom has been great this year,” Poynor said. “He has turned into a terrific leader as well as great player. He just won a super prestigious award being named the Built Ford Tough Player of the Week for the entire state.”
The connection between players is key to building the offense.
“Me and Dom (Higgins) have been playing together since my freshman year on JV,” Robledo said. “We have really connected over the past three years. It comes naturally now. Dom finds me as a target and connects the ball to me.”
Those team connections could be the key as the Indians kick off at 7 p.m. tonight against Greenwood followed by their last district game in Monahans on Nov. 7.
