Kilgore Bulldogs (1-0)
vs.
Sweeny Bulldogs (1-0)

6 p.m. Saturday
Monte Jack Driskell Stadium, Crockett

Coaches
Kilgore: Mike Wood
Sweeny: Brett Sawyer

Last week
Kilgore: def. Marshall, 42-0
Sweeny: def. Bay City, 48-15

Next week
Kilgore: vs. Pine Tree
Sweeny: at Brazosport

Playmakers
Kilgore

  • MLB A.J. Davis, Sr., 6-0, 220 (11 tackles, 1 sack)
  • QB Cooper Coldiron, Sr., 5-11, 170 (3 of 3, 160 yards, 1 TD)
  • RB Kevrin Justice, Soph. (3 carries, 46 yards, 2 TDs; 2 punt returns, 23.5 average)
  • FB/DE Cornelius Bell, Sr., 6-1, 225 (4 carries, 25 yards, 1 TD; 1 tackle for loss)
  • OLB Jake Brantley, Jr., 5-10, 185 (7 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT)
  • DT LaDarrin Anthony, Jr., 5-11, 225 (6 tackles, 1 sack)
  • RB Austin Jordan (2 carries, 10 yards; 71-yard TD catch)
  • RB JuJu Brown, Jr. (9 carries, 16 yards, 1 TD)
  • OL Clay Wiley, Sr., 6-1, 280
  • ATH Benny Colbert, Jr., 5-10, 175

Sweeny

  • RB Dante Lemons, Jr. (10 carries, 232 yards, 4 TDs)
  • QB Dorland Fields, Jr. (8 carries, 90 yards, 1 TD)
  • RB Anthony Simmons (14 carries, 102 yards, 2 TDs)
  • LB Joel Higgins, Sr.
  • DL Greg Lemon, Sr.

Just the facts

  • Kilgore's defense held Marshall to 77 total yards on 36 plays
  • Sweeny ran for 547 yards on 43 attempts vs. Bay City
  • Kilgore forced six Marshall three-and-outs
  • Sweeny scored the first three touchdowns of its game against Bay City and led 28-7 at halftime
  • Kilgore ran only 33 offensive plays against Marshall and gained 288 yards (8.7 yards per play)
  • Sweeny held Bay City to 179 yards last week

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Key matchup: Sweeny's running game vs. Kilgore's front seven. Sweeny posted some staggering rushing statistics in a season-opening blowout of Bay City. Sweeny averaged 12.7 yards per carry as a team, and tailback Dante Lemons averaged 23.2 yards per carry on his own. In stark contrast is Kilgore's defense, which held Marshall to 46 yards on 24 rushing attempts in Kilgore's seven-touchdown rout of the Mavericks. Kilgore will need another big game from linebackers A.J. Davis and Jake Brantley, the team's top two tacklers in the season opener, to contain Sweeny's virtually run-exclusive offense. The battle between Kilgore's ground game and Sweeny's defensive front will be pivotal in much the same way as the aforementioned key matchup.

Don't be surprised if: There aren't a lot of passes thrown in this game. Sweeny had no need whatsoever to throw the ball against Bay City, so that probably means it won't see much us for the forward pass against Kilgore even if Sweeny's not running the ball anywhere near as well as it did  a week ago. Kilgore quarterback Cooper Coldiron can throw the ball, and coach Mike Wood won't hesitate to put the ball in the air with his new QB, but Kilgore's bread and butter, as always, is the ground attack. Coldiron threw only three passes last week, completing all three for an average of 53.3 yards per completion. The running game did enough for Kilgore to come away with a blowout win, but the Bulldogs may need more from it this week to subdue Sweeny. It's hard to gauge this matchup since the teams come from different parts of the state. Kilgore will have more bodies because it's enrollment is significantly higher (965) than Sweeny's (593), but so was Bay City's (1,098). Both teams recorded big blowout wins to start their 2012 seasons, so Saturday's game should be entertaining, but give Kilgore the edge.

 

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