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UNIONVILLE, Mo. — Milan Wildcat head football coach John Dabney believes the foundation has been laid for the 2011 Wildcats season, but there is one more brick to put on the building.
Milan (9-0) can clinch the Tri-Rivers Conference title outright Friday night with a win at rival Putnam County.
Putnam County (2-7) head coach Wade Auld is quite aware of the rivalry between the two schools.
“I found out quickly in my first year about the rivalry,” he said. “It’s traditionally one of the biggest games of the year for us.”
Putnam County hopes to do the same thing to Milan as the Wildcats did to them last season. The Midgets were headed for an outright title last season when Milan defeated them in the season finale 19-14.
The Wildcats have already clinched the Class 1, District 10 title and a home playoff game Nov. 2. The success the No. 9 state ranked Wildcats have had has been dependent on a group of seniors who took their lumps in the early going of their prep careers.
“[The seniors] have a real desire to succeed,” Dabney said. “They put in the work even before practice started this season. They began laying the foundation for a good team brick-by-brick. It has been a natural progression.”
Milan is 4-0 in Tri-Rivers play and is one game in front of Scotland County, the Class 1, District 12 champion. Milan beat Scotland County 54-0 in Milan earlier this season.
The Midgets do boast a playmaker in senior quarterback Brett Thomas, who has rushed for 1,009 yards this season and passed for 901 yards.
“[Thomas] is elusive,” Dabney said. “He’s a good quarterback and you have to make
sure that you wrap him up, because he can create problems cutting back. I don’t think you can stop him, you can only hope to contain him.”
Containing opponents have been one of the Wildcat strengths this season.
Milan has allowed an average of eight points a game.
Dabney said the team’s philosophy on defense is simple.
“It’s just all about consistency on defense,” he said. “It’s just tackling. When we have a lull in defense, it’s because our kids aren’t tackling and their heads aren’t on straight. It’s all about blocking and tackling. Blocking on offense and tackling on defense.”
Dabney feels that his team will play hard, despite having wrapped up a district title.
“In some ways, it will be like a preseason game in the NFL or NBA, where the teams start out playing hard early and then you just take it from there,” he said, “but we want to keep the momentum going and keep the edge, We’ve had great crowds this season and we’ll probably have a big one Friday night.”
Milan possesses a punishing ground game led by Cooper Bankus with 1,109 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Brad Hisel has 11 touchdowns.
Auld is aware of what Milan can do on the ground.
“Milan is a very physical team,” he said. “Their backs run hard. Bankus is the biggest threat. He’s not very fast, but he’s physical.”
UNIONVILLE, Mo. — Milan Wildcat head football coach John Dabney believes the foundation has been laid for the 2011 Wildcats season, but there is one more brick to put on the building.
Milan (9-0) can clinch the Tri-Rivers Conference title outright Friday night with a win at rival Putnam County.
Putnam County (2-7) head coach Wade Auld is quite aware of the rivalry between the two schools.
“I found out quickly in my first year about the rivalry,” he said. “It’s traditionally one of the biggest games of the year for us.”
Putnam County hopes to do the same thing to Milan as the Wildcats did to them last season. The Midgets were headed for an outright title last season when Milan defeated them in the season finale 19-14.
The Wildcats have already clinched the Class 1, District 10 title and a home playoff game Nov. 2. The success the No. 9 state ranked Wildcats have had has been dependent on a group of seniors who took their lumps in the early going of their prep careers.
“[The seniors] have a real desire to succeed,” Dabney said. “They put in the work even before practice started this season. They began laying the foundation for a good team brick-by-brick. It has been a natural progression.”
Milan is 4-0 in Tri-Rivers play and is one game in front of Scotland County, the Class 1, District 12 champion. Milan beat Scotland County 54-0 in Milan earlier this season.
The Midgets do boast a playmaker in senior quarterback Brett Thomas, who has rushed for 1,009 yards this season and passed for 901 yards.
“[Thomas] is elusive,” Dabney said. “He’s a good quarterback and you have to make
sure that you wrap him up, because he can create problems cutting back. I don’t think you can stop him, you can only hope to contain him.”
Containing opponents have been one of the Wildcat strengths this season.
Milan has allowed an average of eight points a game.
Dabney said the team’s philosophy on defense is simple.
“It’s just all about consistency on defense,” he said. “It’s just tackling. When we have a lull in defense, it’s because our kids aren’t tackling and their heads aren’t on straight. It’s all about blocking and tackling. Blocking on offense and tackling on defense.”
Dabney feels that his team will play hard, despite having wrapped up a district title.
“In some ways, it will be like a preseason game in the NFL or NBA, where the teams start out playing hard early and then you just take it from there,” he said, “but we want to keep the momentum going and keep the edge, We’ve had great crowds this season and we’ll probably have a big one Friday night.”
Milan possesses a punishing ground game led by Cooper Bankus with 1,109 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Brad Hisel has 11 touchdowns.
Auld is aware of what Milan can do on the ground.
“Milan is a very physical team,” he said. “Their backs run hard. Bankus is the biggest threat. He’s not very fast, but he’s physical.”
