CHICKASHA —
The Chickasha High School football team has lost two games in a row, and three of four overall in district play, and the Fightin' Chicks need a turnaround if they want to make the playoffs in district 5A-1.
Chickasha is coming off a 34-24 loss at home to Ardmore, a game during which the Chicks' running game, a large portion of its offense, was almost totally shut down and Chickasha had to rely heavily on the passing game.
"I think Ardmore decided to stud, and I think a lot of people are doing that more, to take away the running game and make you throw, and we're throwing pretty good," head coach Tom Cobble said. "We're young up front and we're not doing a great job with blocking schemes and making places to run."
Quarterback Cade Morris said blocking has been the focus this week in practice as the Fightin' Chicks try to re-establish their running game this week.
"In practice this week we've just worked on blocking, blocking, blocking and fighting," Morris said. "Even if you don't get the right block, if you're going a hundred miles an hour, you might make something happen by getting someone out of the way."
Morris is a big part of the running game, and is the team's second-leading rusher behind Daniel Neff. The Chicks run with a mix of option and traditional running plays.
"You've got to be able to run the football," Cobble said. "We've searched throughout the course of the season whether we want to be more of an option game or more of a base running team, and we can kind of do whatever, we've just got to find our stride and see what we do best."
Things won't get easier this week. The Chicks had a short week of practice leading up to tonight's road game against new 5A opponent Del City, which just dropped down from class 6A this football season.
"They're a 6A team that's down playing in 5A, and that's an advantage for them just because of the level of competition they're used to seeing," Cobble said. "They've got really good athletes at every position, and they're a big school in that area with Midwest City, Del City and Carl Albert. They're going to be a hard team to handle in 5A."
In addition to the running game, Chickasha will try to utilize a short passing game to move the ball down the field.
"Their corners play back, so we'll be able to throw a lot of short stuff on them," Morris said. "They really bring a lot of pressure, and their backers and ends like to pinch down a lot. The passing game is going to have to be quick."
The Eagles went just 1-9 last season, but have started this year off 5-2, and a perfect 4-0 in district 5A-1.
Del City beat MacArthur 41-18 on Sept. 20, and has won its last two games 48-0 and 61-0 over Altus and Capitol Hill.
One of Del City's key playmakers is running back/wide receiver Corey Lawrence, and he is a player Chickasha will have to play well as a team defensively to stop.
"He has great speed, whether he's at running back or on the outside and they're throwing to him," Cobble said. "He's a guy you've got to always account for."
Quarterback Jon McBride will also be a threat, both as a runner and a passer.
"A lot of times one guy isn't going to tackle those kind of athletes, so we've got to get a lot of people to the ball," Cobble said.
Kickoff between the Fightin' Chicks and the Del City Eagles is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tonight at Del City High School.
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Chickasha ran for less than one yard per carry last week against Ardmore, and will need to establish a strong running game to have a chance to win, head coach Tom Cobble said. Lauren Carter/The Express-Star
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