MOKANE, Mo. - With South Callaway's running game seeing more defenses crowd the line of scrimmage, Bulldogs head coach Zack Hess expects more of the same.
South Callaway will carry a four-game winning streak into tonight's Eastern Missouri Conference game at winless Montgomery County. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs improved their season record to 5-1 and remained perfect in the EMO at 4-0 after last week's 20-12 conference victory in the annual Callaway Cup showdown at North Callaway.
South Callaway is averaging 286 yards rushing, but was held to 119 on the ground by the Thunderbirds. It was the Bulldogs' second-lowest rushing total of the season.
"What it boils down to is North Callaway played really good defense," Hess said. "They were fired up and ready to play us, and they played with a lot of excitement and a lot of energy on that side of the ball.
"We struggled (blocking) up front, and we're not used to that. Whoever wins the line of scrimmage is going to, typically, do the best."
With South Callaway struggling to throw the ball, defenses are loading up to stop the Bulldogs' running game. Senior quarterback Ethan Livengood and his backup, sophomore Landon Horstman, combined to complete 2-of-8 passes for a scant 5 yards.
"You're going to get teams that stack the box, eight or nine guys down close to the line of scrimmage," Hess said. "When you do that, it makes it even tougher to run."
The season has been a difficult one for Montgomery County, which plunged to 0-6 overall and 0-4 in the EMO after falling in a 77-63 shootout at Clopton/Elsberry last week. The Wildcats are in their fifth year under head coach John Klekamp, a former South Callaway assistant.
Despite being gouged for 50.2 points per game, Hess stressed Montgomery County will try to jam as many defenders up front to present problems for South Callaway.
"He (Klekamp) gets a lot of guys up near the line of scrimmage and sometimes it makes it hard - especially for the offensive linemen - to know who to block, to know your assignments," Hess said. "We're going to have to do a good job communicating and making sure that we know our assignments."
The Wildcats' offensive hardships are prominent as they are averaging only 16.2 points per game, that total inflated after their outburst against Clopton/Elsberry. Montgomery County had scored a meager 34 points before breaking out last week.
Senior quarterback Joey Schlueter guides the Montgomery County offense. Schlueter spreads the ball among sophomore halfback Corey Kroll, senior running back Joey McCormick, junior wide receiver Roman Bronaugh and senior wide receiver Nicolas Galarza.
"Coach Klekamp's keeping it pretty simple, he's got just a few different formations that he runs," Hess said. "He's got a few different plays that he really likes out of those formations. I think his theme this year is they're just going to play physical up front and try to bull you over, and try to get the yards and play good defense."
South Callaway's defense gave up 220 yards of total offense against North Callaway and forced four turnovers. The Bulldogs' special teams also blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown less than 3 minutes into the game.
"We're going to have to have good run fits and play good run defense, and just be physical on the line of scrimmage this week," Hess said.
South Callaway sits third in the Class 2 District 7 standings with 42 points, just 5.4 behind Father Tolton (47.4), while Hallsville is fourth behind the Bulldogs with 41.01. Lafayette County - No. 4 in the state - holds down first place with 51.79 points.
"We just have to keep getting better; we can't become complacent just because we've won four games in a row," Hess said. "That does not mean that we're some great team all of a sudden.
"We have to just keep working hard in practice and just keep coaching these guys as hard as we can, and making them better."
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