South Callaway has been trying to stop making the same mistakes to switch to a winning track this season.
The Bulldogs did win their first game last week against Louisiana 34-12, but head coach Zack Hess said the team made similar self-inflicted mistakes that could cost them ballgames.
South Callaway fumbled three times, including twice in the second half, in Week 3 and were called for various offsides and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Hess said there obviously were many good things the Bulldogs did on offense, but those mistakes need to phased out starting against a tough conference opponent this week in Montgomery County.
"It's just a matter of discipline and I think that comes from repetition," Hess said. "It's just trying to get as many high-quality repetitions in practice throughout the week that can reinforce the idea of not turning the ball over and not getting penalized."
The Wildcats have had South Callaway's number the last two seasons, defeating them 41-20 last season and 53-21 in 2019. In last season's meeting, South Callaway had three fumbles, and Hess recalls most of them happened early until the defense could not hold down Montgomery County in the second half.
Hess said simulating situations where limiting turnovers and penalties can be tricky, but the team can practice not jumping offsides in pre-snap drills and keep repeating the handoffs so there is less chance of the ball hitting the ground.
Keeping a lid on these are only a few concerns against the Wildcats as Hess said he has much respect for their program and coach, John Klekamp. South Callaway will need to "fly around and play fast" to contain Montgomery County's leading receiver, Ty Leu, but especially its dual-threat quarterback, Adam Czerniewski.
Czerniewski is averaging 118 passing yards per game but is also averaging 109.3 rushing yards per game, making him the Wildcats' leading rusher. Hess said Montgomery County likes to design running plays as well as passing plays on the run for them to use his great athleticism. It will be a challenge to defend him, but Hess said South Callaway needs to deal with the offensive line, as that is where the play usually starts.
"They've got a couple big guards (James Pollard and Connor Finke) that just beat people up, and they've got some tackles that are quick and aggressive," he said.
Hess said it felt good to win in front of the Bulldog home crowd last week, but it will feel great to win again in front of them this week on the same night the team is going to honor its seniors.
"I'm excited about our seniors getting to play a game that celebrates them and their senior year," he said. "It's a big game we're excited about."