Sallisaw travels to play defending district champ

Sallisaw head coach Mark Hutson takes his charges on the road today to take on the Poteau Pirates in District 4A-4 play at 7 p.m. The talented Pirates (3-1 district) are coming off a 28-14 loss to Broken Bow on the road last week, and the winless Black Diamonds are looking to rebound from a 49-0 setback to Hilldale. “Poteau is certainly a good team. They had a tough loss this week at Broken Bow,” Hutson said. “They‚re a physical group, and they‚re going to run the ball – they run it north and south. They‚re physical on defense and on offense, and they have some misdirection. They have two losses on the year, one loss earlier in the year to Metro Christian, and last week to Broken Bow.” The Black Diamonds (0-4 district) are having a heartbreaking season so far, and the loss of several key starters to injuries won‚t help. However, the underclassmen that are starting are getting valuable experience that Hutson believes will pay off in the long run. The Black Diamonds are dealing with multiple injuries that are making the coaches dig deep into their depth charts for starters as the season winds down. “When you lose some of your key players, it‚s an opportunity for some young guys to step in and gain valuable experience, and that‚s part of the game,” Hutson explains. “When you get into it, you tell your players on your second and even third team that they‚re one snap away from being a starter, and that‚s coming true.

“The players have to understand that and practice that way, preparing to play that way. It‚s certainly happening that way for certain people, like the true freshman Jackson Harris at quarterback, and Damarion West played receiver for us. It‚s certainly a great time for them to expand, learn and gain confidence.”

The Black Diamonds‚ defense will need to respect the Pirates‚ top playmaker, Dax Collins, who‚s averaging 20.6 yards receiving and 136.4 yards per game on the ground, as well as receivers Adrian Conchos (18.5 yards per game) and Wesley Garrett (14.3 yards per game). The rest of Poteau‚s offensive weapons are running backs Jackson Sommers, averaging 93.2 yards, and Holden Mattox, 43 yards.

The struggling Black Diamonds‚ offense must contend with Poteau‚s top defensive playmakers, Kix Fenton, Tyler Fassio and Jagger Dodson, all of whom are averaging about seven tackles per game this season.

“They‚re the defending district champs, and they‚re in the hunt again,” Hutson said. “We‚ll get their best Friday night. They‚re a quality team, and they‚re a physical team on both sides of the ball.”