The Bobcats are 1-0 in postseason rematches and Friday night they get a chance to get even with the Governors in Pierre.
Fourth-seeded Brookings beat No. 5 seed Mitchell, 17-7, on Thursday night at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium – avenging a 28-14 loss to the Kernels in Week 2 of the regular season.
But tomorrow’s game is going to be a bit bigger task against the top-seeded Govs.
Not only did Pierre shut out the ‘Cats, 28-0, in Week 5, the visiting Governors picked up more than 300 yards on the ground and 16 rushing first downs while limiting Brookings to less than 160 yards of total offense in a dominant performance.
But Bobcat head coach Lee Schmidt feels his team is ready – just like they were leading up to last week’s first-round game with Mitchell.
“At this point, they don’t care who they play – they know they are playing well,” said Schmidt of the rematch. “They know they have their hands full; they know that they have to play really well.
“I think everybody is excited to get on the bus; heading out there; kicking off and seeing what we can do.”
And Schmidt thinks his team has impoved since Week 5.
“Our kids are feeling really good about where they are at and how they’ve come along. We’re reading better; we’re being more dominant up front – being more physical,” he said. “We’re excited for the opportunity to go play No. 1 Pierre – we know we have to stay on the field offensively and find some way to get into the end zone.
“We know defensively we will play them much better than we did the first time because our kids are making some of their own adjustments – understanding their own mistakes and getting them cleaned up; doing things right and doing things more consistently. We are going to have to be a consistent football team; not give up big plays; make some things happen on special teams and make sure that we are solid on special teams.
“It could be one of those games that could come down to five or six plays that make a difference in the whole game.”
