Bobcats face Madison on Homecoming

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Friday features a matchup of Class AA No. 2 and Class A No. 3 as Brookings is host to Madison.

Kickoff for the Homecoming game is set for 7 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

Brookings (3-0) is averaging 307 rushing yards per game – led by Josh Buri, who’s picking up 133.3 yards per contest and has six touchdowns on the ground while adding a TD reception.

Jaxon Bowes went 9-of-12 for 124 yards with three scores through the air last week. He was 6-of-11 for 76 with one TD and a pick through the first two games.

The Bobcats have been balanced on the other side of the ball.

Scouting the Bulldogs

“Madison has some good skill players,” said BHS coach Brady Clark. “Their quarterback does a really good job; he’s effective and he’s dual threat – he can run the ball and he can pass it. Kind of the typical thing we’ve been seeing besides Sturgis is they’re going to want to spread the ball out. They run a lot of trips looks, so defensively, that’s something we’re preparing for and we’ll be ready to go by Friday. Offensively, we saw it last week, we took another nice step in the evolution of our offense. We can not only run the ball, but we can pass it as well. We’re looking to continue moving forward with that. We just – obviously you’re going to hear me say it every week – understand our keys and know our responsibilities and just play smart football; we should be able to come with a ‘W’ on Friday.”

Last week

The Bobcats belted Sturgis 53-13 in their home opener.

The Bulldogs (2-1) fell 41-14 to Dell Rapids after winning 22-16 at Dakota Valley and then defeating Canton 34-18 at home.

Last year

In their closest game of the season, the Bobcats beat the Bulldogs 22-9 on Sept. 20 in Madison. They ended up placing second in Class 11AA, posting a 10-2 record.

Madison qualified for the Class 11A final every year between 2013-17, winning the crown the latter three years. The Bulldogs lost in the quarterfinals in both 2018 and 2019.

Biggest key

OFFENSE

“We want to get going right away,” noted Clark. “We’ve been starting slow every game and one thing that we need to improve on is when we get that first possession on offense, we want to score.

“That’s one thing that we’re going to challenge our guys to do this week – coming out and putting together a great drive right away and finding the end zone.”

DEFENSE

“Communication is going to be our biggest key,” Clark added. “They’re going to do some different things that we haven’t seen and we have some different guys in some different spots.

“So communication is going to be No. 1 between the coach and then to the players and then to one another out on the field. Madison likes to check plays at the line of scrimmage, so once again we’re going to need to communicate things so we all know what we’re doing and we’re all on the same page.”