With two games remaining in the regular season, the football season is coming down to crunch time.
The Bobcats, 3-4 on the season and fourth in seed points in 11AA, plays host to 2-5 Sioux Falls Lincoln, seeded seventh in 11AAA.
Brookings has lost three in a row – 28-0 to Pierre; 28-7 to Washington; and 14-7 to Harrisburg – while the Patriots are coming off a 31-20 win over Rapid City Stevens.
“Lincoln is a AAA school out of Sioux Falls, so they play a tough schedule,” BHS head coach Lee Schmidt said of the Patriots. “They have good kids – comparable to the teams that we’ve been playing – so, it’s like last week, you make a few more breaks, make a few more plays for ourselves, a couple of plays here or there, and we win a game instead of lose a game.
“I imagine this game will be something like that.”
The teams are similar in points totals for the season with just two common opponents – Yankton and Watertown – as the Patriots are averaging 19.5 points per game while giving up an average of 25 points per outing.
Brookings is putting up 18.5 points and surrendering 19, but has beaten both common opponents – 24-23 over the Bucks and 27-14 over the Arrows, compared to Lincoln losing to both – 17-10 vs. Watertown and 30-23 vs. Yankton.
“As far as comparable scores and comparisons of them to us – it should be a good match,” Schmidt said. “Whoever plays the best; doesn’t turn the ball over; and can make some plays on offense gives themselves a chance to win.
“They do have two really good offensive linemen – two tackles – one is going to Iowa State and the other kid has played for three years; and they have a lot of young skill kids, but they have a good coaching staff and they’ll be prepared for us.
“We’re going to see a spread offense with a 4-3 defense, like ours, with a little bit of variety of coverages from man to cover-4 to cover-3 – not anything we haven’t seen; not anything we haven’t practiced against or played against – again, it comes down to the level of execution.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
