Prep Grid Preview ... Week 5: 'Hounds, Chiefs both looking for answers

Junior Travis Holt (3) and the 'Cats' defense hope they can apply some pressure to Concordia's high-powered attack. (Martin Barrett/Lexington News) [Click to enlarge]

It can be fairly said that neither coach whose I-70 Conference squads meet Friday at Sweet Springs is happy with where his team is at approaching the midway point of the season.

The 'Hounds' Tim Smith is so disaffected with his offense, which has been shut out twice and is averaging only 8.0 points per game, that he's moved senior all-state guard Zach Thomas to fullback just to get some more blocking.

"We've made some major changes on offense," Smith admitted. "The defense has been doing its job, so we hope the switch on offense will create a spark."

Santa Fe's Andy Frerking hasn't been pleased by his club's soft play. The Chiefs (1-3, 0-1 I-70) are coming off a 52-0 loss to top-ranked two-time defending Class 1 state champion Orrick, an opponent who gives most coaches the blues.

"Being short-handed against a team like that is not what you want with a young team," said Frerking, who was missing three starters last week. "We're looking to hopefully getting some guys back and get after it a little bit."

Frerking wasn't disappointed when Monday's junior varsity game was cancelled, because Santa Fe "was able to take advantage of that time to take care of some things." He said the Chiefs have gotten in three "good days of practice."

The Chiefs have quite of bit of ground to make up from last year's 41-12 drubbing at the hands of Sweet Springs, and will have to be hard-nosed to do it.

"The thing that impresses me ... is how physical they are," Frerking said. "They look forward to going out and hitting."

Santa Fe got another dose of that rugged treatment, in a limited way, during the pre-season jamboree at Concordia.

"They just handled us up front," Frerking noted. "We have to play more physical at the line of scrimmage."

Smith isn't as concerned with his team's toughness as he is with its execution on offense. Still, the 'Hounds (1-3, 1-3) will keep an eye on junior quarterback Ross Tieman, as dangerous with his feet as with his arm.

"What scares me the most is when he takes off with it," Smith confessed. "They're patient, but will go for the big play. You can't fall asleep watching that dive play all the time."

Sweet Springs will try to control the ball against a Chief defense which has given up 42.0 points per game, an approach he called "little steps first."

"We've got to get first downs and eventually get into the end zone," Smith explained. "You have to keep the chains moving."

The 'Hounds are looking at a district which will still afford them the opportunity of returning to the playoffs, so time may be on their side. However, Santa Fe is now just getting into the thick of its league schedule and could use an immediate lift.

"Whether we win or lose, we just want to play better," Frerking declared.

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SLATER -- Slater head coach Chris Ferri won't soon forget his team's wild and crazy clash at Concordia last year.

"We lost a lot of confidence that game," Ferri said of the Wildcats' 56-40 loss, which saw the two teams combine for 1,075 total yards on offense -- the sixth highest figure in state history. While Slater actually had the edge in offense with 579 yards, Ferri said "what really let us down was special teams" -- especially Jacob Kapala's 90-yard kickoff return to begin the second half to give the Orioles a 56-20 lead.

"We're really focusing on special teams this week," Ferri observed.

Concordia (3-1) -- the 'Cats' Homecoming guest Friday -- has many other weapons, though, as it proved during last week's 28-0 victory over Sweet Springs. Among them is sophomore wingback Collin Werths, a 5-foot-7, 137-pound speedster who exceeded 100 yards both running and receiving -- who Ferri described as "extremely fast and a hard runner."

Werths can get lost behind a big, strong line, making him dangerous in misdirection plays.

"Last year they ran a lot of counters on us, and were very successful," Ferri said. "We have to try to contain them, keep them between the tackles."

Slater (2-2) is coming off a 40-8 victory at Wentworth Military Academy, but Ferri didn't find it especially encouraging.

"We saw a lot of mistakes we made that we need to clean up," he conceded. "We can't make the same mistakes in this game and win."