Rangers start district schedule at home against Keys

Roland looks to register its first win of the season Friday night when the Rangers host Keys in their first District 2A-5 game.

Kickoff inside Ranger Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Rangers (0-3) fell 30-21 at Central on Thursday while Keys (0-3) was beaten 55-0 by Kiefer Friday. In their season opener the Cougars fell 47-0 at Class A No. 2 Gore and the following week Keys dropped a 36-16 decision to 4A Stilwell.

“We‚ve got to execute,” Roland head coach Austin Cantrell said about Friday‚s game. “I‚ve got a bunch of young kids and last week was their third game they‚ve ever played in. That‚s what we‚ve got to do, we‚ve got to execute. We‚re also not controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. We‚ve got to get it figured out.”

In 2021 the Rangers defeated the Cougars 16-12 in Cherokee County.

A few of the Cougars‚ key players on offense are running back Cooper Hamilton (6-foot, 160-pound senior), quarterback Colton Combs (6-3 sr.), receivers Bronc Quetone (6-1 sr.) and Garrett Glory (5-10 sr.) and offensive lineman Austin Davis (5-11 jr.).

“Offensively they‚re like a spread- style offense , ” Cantrell said. “They run a lot of what we run, kind of a multiple set. From what I can tell they‚re going to run the ball a little bit more than they‚re going to throw it.

“Defensively up front we have to control the line of scrimmage. We have to be the aggressors, we have to initiate the contact and set the line of scrimmage in our favor and just make some tackles. We‚re not the best tacklers in the world right now so once we get that figured out we‚ll have a solid defense.”

Some of Keys‚ standouts on defense are linebacker Austin Davis and defensive backs Cooper Hamilton, Colton Combs, Bronc Quetone and Garrett Glory.

“Defensively from what I can tell they‚re in a 4-3,” Cantrell said. “They kind of disguise it in different ways but it‚s a 4-3.

“Execution, 100% execution, is a key for our offense. We‚ve got to be able to establish a consistent run-game and it starts up front and we‚ve got to have guys that are going to run the ball hard.”

In last week‚s loss at Central, Roland quarterback Logen Thomas completed 14-of-26 passes for 156 passes and two touchdowns with two interceptions and Roland‚s receivers were Kyeree Hall (4 catches for 60 yards and a 21-yard touchdown), Ashton Peters (4 for 29), Desean Cruse (1 for 21), Davohn Hall (1 for 20 and a TD), Logan Lorenz (2 for 15) and Kejuan Youngblood (2 for 11).

Peters (9 carries for 42 yards and a 1-yard touchdown) was the Rangers‚ leading runner and trailing him were Youngblood (11 for 40), Thomas (12 for 18) and Michael Taylor (3 for 6).