In a rematch of week nine of the regular season, the stakes for this Friday’s bout between McCracken County and Henderson County are much higher. Both teams are locked in and ready for second round of the playoffs, with the arrival of November football meaning it is win-or-go-home.
“We get Henderson again, matched up with them two weeks ago,” head coach Tyler Brooks said. “At this point in the year, you are who you are. You have to drop the success that you had last time and look at it as a new opponent. We have to come in ready to go and hopefully pull out another one.”
In their last meeting at Henderson, the Mustangs came away with a 55-42 win thanks to an offensive explosion from their stars Maddox O’Neal, Jakari Matchem, and Landon Newman. This Friday, McCracken looks to repeat that performance at Marquette Stadium in front of their home crowd.
“When you don’t have to deal with a two-hour bus ride, that’s a huge advantage in itself,” Coach Brooks said. “You have a routine set at home, you have the home crowd, you have your locker room, there’s just a lot of advantages. We’re excited about it.”
A majority of the time, teams do not face an opposing squad multiple times in a season, but the way the bracket played out provided an opportunity for a rematch, which has its advantages and disadvantages.
“We had some success against them offensively. They threw a lot of stuff at us defensively, so when it comes to game planning, it gets a little difficult to tell what they are trying to do to us,” Brooks said about the rematch. “Defensively, they’re not going to change offenses all of the sudden a week into the playoffs. That’s something we can hone in on and get better at, and hopefully have a better defensive performance.”
As mentioned, 55 points against the Colonels in their last matchup came from three touchdowns a piece from Matchem and Newman. Matchem’s 142 receiving yards and Newman’s 215 on the ground made up over 70% of McCracken’s yards that game. The execution was something Coach Brooks was proud of, crediting the team with making the right reads and taking advantage of the defense presented.
“We did a really good job that game of just taking what they gave us. They decided they were going to solo up on our receivers, and we were able to hit some big plays with Jude, Jakari, and even Reed, who had one called back. With them lightening the box, we were able to hand it off and let Newman do his thing. Honestly they didn’t have an answer for our heavy package either, so it was a fun night offensively.”
Overall this playoff rematch is set to be an exciting one. With the first game taking place just a few weeks ago, the sting of the loss is fresh on the minds of the Colonels, and the Mustangs know what they need to do to come away victorious. With the possibility of another shootout, there is no doubt the fans at Marquette Stadium this Friday will witness some electrifying action on the field.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.