Black Diamonds travel to tame Tahlequah’s Tigers

Sallisaw goes on the road tonight to tame the Tigers at Doc Wadley Stadium in the Black Diamonds‚ final non-district game of the season. Reclassification has moved Tahlequah (0-2) into Class 6A-II competition this year, and the Tigers return seven starters from last year, including all four of the Tigers‚ top receivers.

Tahlequah‚s offense relies on multiple formations that new starting quarterback Brody Younger must successfully manage if the Tigers are going to be in the playoffs again.

Last year Younger played five games and completed an impressive 47% of his passes, connecting with last season‚s top Tiger receivers Race Stopp, Jacob Morrison, Cale Matlock and Beckett Robinson. Stopp had 40 catches for an 11.6 per-reception average with five being touchdowns, Morrison averaged 12.5 yards per catch, Matlock averaging 13.7 yards per grab with four TDs and Robinson, when healthy, totaled 10.2 yards per catch in the five games he was able to play.

Black Diamonds head coach Mark Hutson reviews the tapes over the week with the players and coaches and comes up with strategies to manage the Tigers during tonight‚s contest.

“We‚re going through the video right now on Tahlequah,” Hutson said earlier in the week. “We‚re watching them offensively, defensively, you know, the kicking game and breaking them down. We‚ll continue to work them through the week. Monday will be our opener, we‚ll build the basics there, and then Tuesday we‚ll get a little bit deeper into it, and then Wednesday we‚ll be deeper into it.” Hutson is going to face a balanced offense that includes Tahlequah‚s running game led by talented backs Josh Munoz and Darryn Spahr.

The Tigers are counting on a relatively inexperienced offensive line to protect their new quarterback, so hopefully the Black Diamonds can utilize that fact and get pressure in the backfield to slow them down.

Since the Stigler game, Sallisaw has focused on its offensive schemes to create more opportunities to move the football via the run. The offensive line will need to give the ball carrier a chance by creating running lanes, but the backs need to find those opportunities.

“Well, I think as the games go and as the season goes, we‚ll certainly want to have the ability to run the ball, and that‚s something that we worked on from the Stigler game,” Hutson said. “We did have improvement there, but there‚s certainly room to keep improving” “We‚ll work on our blocking combinations on our offensive line with the tight ends. We‚ll work with the running backs on seeing the hole and finding an opening there, and with the quarterback when we do our read plays with the defensive ends. That‚s something that we‚ll continue to work throughout the year.”

Sallisaw‚s offense faces a talented Tigers defense made up of playmakers. The secondary unit and linebacker positions return seven starters from a year ago.

The top Tiger defenders are secondary unit captain Dylan Leep, with six interceptions and 24 tackles last season; Mason Watkins, with 87 tackles; and Jayden Moore, who racked up 64 stops, four of which for a loss.

Sallisaw quarterback Parker Jackson will hopefully have his offense on point and find success moving the football via the run, which should open up the air attack. Big plays and special teams are going to be a factor, and the Black Diamonds will need to keep the penalties to a minimum to be able to stay in this game.