Muldrow Bulldogs look to bounce back with homecoming win tonight over Spiro

For the second time within a month, the Muldrow Bulldogs will look to rebound from a loss when they entertain Spiro in a battle of Bulldogs at 7 tonight at Marty Rogers Field for homecoming.

It worked the first time when the Bulldogs (1-2) bounced back to defeat the Sequoyah-Tahlequah Indians 38-14 on Sept. 1 after losing “The Battle of 64” to Roland by a score of 21-14.

Last Friday night, the ’Dogs were humbled last Friday night at Marty Rogers Field in their home opener 45-0 by the Sallisaw Black Diamonds, who snapped a 17-game losing streak overall and a two-game skid to the Bulldogs.

“The kids came to work over the weekend,” first-year Muldrow coach Logan Coatney said. “We got some film study in. We got some rehab going (for injured players). We had a good practice (Monday afternoon). I think we have a good idea of what we’re doing. The kids understand the game plan. Now, it’s about the guys going out there and continuing to get better on the small details and fundamentals, but I feel confident that our kids are ready to come back and wash (last) Friday (home loss to Sallisaw) from our minds.”

Spiro’s Bulldogs (1-1) are coming off a resounding 56-7 loss to the LeFlore County rival Pocola Indians last Friday night at Pocola’s John Carter Field. The ’Dogs won their season opener 12-6 in overtime against another LeFlore County rival, the Panama Razorbacks in their home opener Aug. 31 at McClain Stadium in Spiro.

“They’re athletic,” Coatney said. “They have good size. They do a good job defensively. (Spiro) coach Kyle Fowler was a longterm coach here at Muldrow. He does a phenomenal job. They’re going to do some things different than what we’ve seen up to this point in the season. It’s always fun to practice, and seeing what we’re seeing from a film standpoint.”

The big thing for Muldrow’s Bulldogs will be executing the game plan, which was not done in last week’s home loss to rival Sallisaw.

“We’re going to have to come out and execute extremely well, which is something we obviously didn’t do Friday night,” Coatney said. “We’ve got to turn the page. We have to execute from start to finish in order to find success. At the end of the day, they have to be pumped up and come ready to play on Friday night.”

Another thing the local ’Dogs have to do is stay healthy, which has been an issue in each of the last two games.

“We have to stay healthy,” Coatney said. “We got a little bit banged up against Sequoyah (Tahlequah). Against Sallisaw, we had a few more dudes get banged up. Right now, it’s all about staying healthy. We’re still in non-district games. They don’t matter as far as playoff implication goes. We’re doing our part to keep our kids healthy as can be, adjusting how we practice. The weather is something we’re hoping will work in our favor. The forecast looks like there’s not going to be much more rain. It’s going to be cooler. We’re going to have to have some dudes go both ways. The kids will have to hydrate well this week and take care of their bodies.”

A third concern for Coatney’s team is homecoming festivities themselves.

“I’m always going to be concerned about outside noise and distractions,” he said. “Because it is homecoming, it is what it is. You can’t change it, but it is a large distraction for our kids and our football program and the outside noise that comes with it. That’s something that we’ve spoken to the kids about. They have to understand that homecoming is great and all, but we’re there to play. It’s something we look at and hope our kids buy in to what we’re telling them vs. getting caught up in the noise. It’s always something we’re going to fear with the outside noise and the extracurriculars that are going on.”