Tigers Return To Action In Kaufman

The stands in Kaufman will be full of coaches from district 14-3A. Wills Point is the only team without an open date this week, and will be the object of a lot of scouting.

With the Canton Eagles looming as the district opener in one week, Canton coaches will have a keen interest in watching Friday’s game, while the Tigers are mostly interested in staying injury free.

"Most people would see this as a disadvantage," said Tigers’ head coach Kevin Garvin of being the only district team playing this week. "Canton has two weeks to prepare for us and to get healthy. The advantage for us is we will be in our routine and doing things consistently."

As far as the scouting, Canton’s wide-open pass offense will not learn much from watching the Tigers against the smash-mouth running game of the Kaufman Lions.

"They’re a physical team up-front," Garvin said of Kaufman. "They’re going to line up and run right at you, and the backs run hard. They try to lull you to sleep, then hit a big play with a play-action pass."

With the exception of quarterback Austin McDaniel, the Lions graduated a lot of skill players from last season’s team, but Garvin believes the replacements are just as good. Jason Neal (No. 30), Joe Posigian (No. 4) and Tra Anderson (No. 5) will all rotate through the backfield. The offensive front is led by Phillip Sanders (No. 75). Center Wesley Stolusky (No. 52) is also a good player according to Garvin.

Sanders (defensive line) and Neal (middle linebacker) also lead the defense for the Lions, who ae geared to stop the run.

"They pack a lot of guys up front, and dare you to beat them with the pass," Garvin said. "The key for us will be to pass protect so we can have time to throw, and to run enough to keep them honest.

"On defense, we have to get lined up right and tackle well. We’re also going to have to be patient. They’re going to keep running the ball and we need to force them out of their element and force more throws."

The Tigers have had four starters, including quarterback Trent Jurica, out with the flu early in the week, but Garvin expected all four by the middle of the week.

Wills Point will host Canton on October 9, with kickoff scheduled at 7:30.