Published: September 25, 2008 09:55 am      

District A-4 teams in action

Bray-Doyle, Empire and Waurika look to go 2-1

Bray-Doyle knows it can play better than what it showed last week.

After being blanked 21-0 by Empire, head coach Warren Butler said his team needs to continue to fight and get better, especially as the heart of the schedule comes up.

Bray-Doyle (1-2) hosts Rush Springs this week for its Homecoming, The Redskins have fallen on hard times, standing at 0-3 after a 62-0 loss to Ringling last week. Despite the shutout, Butler said he knows Rush Springs can open it up on offense, spreading the ball out and getting the ball down the field through the air.

“They’re going to spread the offense out, throw the ball a little bit,” Butler said. “The quarterback can run a little bit, too.”

The Donkeys are going to keep the same personnel on the field, keeping the lineup relatively similar as they have all year. Bray-Doyle gained 54 yards on the ground rushing last week on 24 carries, while passing for 54 yards.

The Donkeys had four first downs on the night, losing one fumble while committing nine penalties for 51 yards.

Butler said the key to the game will be whether they can just “keep their heads on straight” and line up and go play football.

The game will be at Bray-Doyle’s Donkey stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Waurika vs. Elmore City

Waurika will travel to Elmore City-Pernell Friday night, looking to move past its 37-13 loss to Velma-Alma last week. Waurika had 11 first downs on the evening against the Comets, gaining 182 total yards of offense.

Head coach Larry VanBeber said his team was disappointed in the way it came out against Velma-Alma,

but are looking to get going against a team they feel better matched up with in the Badgers.

“We’re just getting back to the basics,” VanBeber said. “We’re working on conditioning and simple technique.”

After giving up nearly 400 yards of total offense last week to Velma-Alma, VanBeber said his team is focusing on tackling better, hoping to get four or five bodies on the ball carrier each time. Swarming to the ball on defense, he said, will be key to stopping the offense.

“They run a wing-T much like us, just a little tighter,” he said. “They have a freshman quarterback who can run a little bit with a couple of big offensive lineman.”

Waurika has had trouble translating what its worked on in practice to Friday nights, something coach VanBeber is hoping to fix by Friday. That, he said, will have to be done through drills and repetition in practice.

“It’s just been frustrating not being able to take what we’ve learned in practice over to the games,” VanBeber said.”

He said his team has stayed healthy, and should be ready to go come Friday night.

The game will kick off Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Elmore City.

Empire vs. Wilson

Empire will take on Wilson this week as it looks to continue its winning ways after beating Bray-Doyle 21-0 in its first win of the season.

Chance Bridges had two rushing touchdowns in the win, scoring on runs of two and 38 yards. Empire finished with 275 total yards of offense, 207 on the ground. Head coach Keith Burton said his team isn’t doing anything drastic to prepare for Wilson, as he doesn’t expect to see anything unfamiliar from its defense.

“We’re just looking to get better,” Burton said. “We were really pleased with cutting down our turnovers last week as that’s been a big thing all year for us.”

Offensively for Wilson, Burton said he expects to see them throw the ball often with a quarterback that has good size and a strong arm. The Bulldogs have worked on their pass coverage this week, he said, hoping to make Wilson beat them on the ground.

Empire has continued to be struggle with injuries, having to replace several players on the offensive and defensive lines. Burton said one player was able to get back on the field and should be ready to play, but that they are still struggling to get everyone 100 percent healthy. Despite the injuries, Burton said the team’s intensity hasn’t wavered.

“We’re going to try and keep up the same intensity from last week,” he said. “We came out ready to play and were focused on the first play of the game.”

The game will kick-off Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Wilson.