Spartans look to slow down Tigers’ rushing attack

CHRIS ROUSH/DAILY FORUM
South Holt/Nodaway-Holt junior all-purpose back Brody Day powers his way into the end zone during the Spartans’ game against Albany Friday night. The Spartans face undefeated Worth County at 7 p.m. Friday night in Grant City.

Although South Holt/Nodaway-Holt lost to Albany on a last-second touchdown last week, 44-42, the Spartans are looking to build off their offensive performance.

The Spartans’ 42-point game was a season-high for the squad and head coach Josh Petersen said that’s the type of performance he wants to continue to see.

“Except for the last 30 seconds of the game against Albany, last Friday night is what I want our offense to look like,” Petersen said. “If we can control the clock, manage first downs, and sustain long drives, we can bleed the clock down and let our defense take over.”

While the offense is coming into its own, it’s the defense that Petersen wants to see perform at a high level, especially against the undefeated Worth County Tigers Friday night.

“Our defense is going to have to come ready to play,” Petersen said. “They have some pretty good running backs and good linemen, so we’re going to have to be ready defensively. I’m expecting it to be a shootout again, whoever gets the first stop is going to hold the upper hand.”

Through the first five games of the season, Worth County is ranked first in all of 8-Man football averaging 66 points per game. A lot of the Tigers’ success can be chalked up to their ground attack and senior running back Brevyn Ross, who has 86 carries for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.

“We’re just going to have to get to him,” Petersen said. “Our defensive front has to get penetration and our linebackers need to find out where he (Ross) is on the field. He’s a good running back, we’ve been watching film on him and we’re going to have to contain him if we want to win.”

For the Spartans’ offense, success will rest on the arm of junior quarterback Alan Ottman and the legs of junior all-purpose back Brody Day. The duo, along with junior tight end Carey Volner, have accounted for a majority of the Spartans’ offense this season.

“Our offense has to execute and we have to eliminate penalties,” Petersen said. “We can’t have turnovers, that’s plagued us in a few games this year. We turn the ball over and we hang our heads.”

South Holt/Nodaway-Holt is searching for its third win of the season Friday night and Petersen knows his squad his capable of winning ballgames.

“They need to understand that they can compete with anybody,” Petersen said. “In years past, that wasn’t the case, but that’s no longer the case. We are no longer playing a person, we’re playing a team. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we just need to line up and go against the eight guys on the other side. Our coaching staff is looking for someone to step up. Offensively, I think we had a few, but we want someone on defense to step up and be the guy that’s going to make a play.”

South Holt/Nodaway-Holt (2-3) travels to Grant City to take on Worth County (5-0) at 7 p.m. Friday night in a 275 Conference matchup.