Black Diamonds face stiff test tonight against Broken Bow Savages
The Sallisaw Black Diamonds will try to extend their winning streak to four games, but it won’t be easy as they will have to travel to meet the Broken Bow Savages at 7 tonight at Broken Bow’s Memorial Stadium.
The Black Diamonds (3-1 overall, 1-0 in District 4A-4 play) opened district play and capped the three-game homestand with a 41-29 victory over the Hilldale Hornets last Friday night.
“I’m proud of our kids winning all three of those (first three home games),” Sallisaw coach Brandon Tyler said. “You want to win all your home games. We definitely have a tough road game this week. It is what it is. It’s the way the district is. We have to get on the bus and drive 2.5 hours over the mountains. I know our kids will be ready.”
Tyler talked about last week how crucial it was to open District 4A-4 play in a four-way tie at the top at 1-0 instead of being in the four-way tie at 0-1.
“You want to win that first district ball game,” he said. “That’s when the regular season really starts. It’s for playoff seeding, and it was very important to get that (first district win). We were close to get our (maximum) 15 (district) points as well. We were just happy to get a win, and we’re 1-0 in district play right now.”
The Savages (4-0, 1-0) routed Glenpool 47-7 in its district opener last week after winning all three non-district contests — 23-20 over McAlester, 2623 over Durant and beating archrival Idabel 49-12. Tyler said everything the Savages do offensively revolves around quarterback Greydon Howell.
“They are a very talented football team,” he said. “They have a quarterback, the (Greydon) Howell kid, who is being recruited by every Division I college in America. He’s definitely good. The Howell kid will extend plays with his legs on what he’s able to do back there. We’ve been trying to mimic what he does in practice with (Sallisaw Assistant) Coach (Logan) Aguilera and (Assistant) Coach (Jaxon) McTyre have been our scout team quarterback this week, running around and doing stuff back there. We don’t have anybody who can do what he does. They have some Idabel transfers who have really helped them as well.”
Last year, the Savages came to Perry F. Lattimore Stadium and routed the Black Diamonds 56-14. However, avenging the loss isn’t as high a priority as one might think.
“They embarrassed us last year,” Tyler said. “We just want to go down there and compete. Like I told the kids, when it gets to the fourth quarter, we just want to give ourselves a chance to win. It’s definitely going to be a tough ball game, and I think the Black Diamonds will be up for the challenge.”
The same keys that the Black Diamonds used against Hilldale to get a district win last week will be just as crucial tonight to open District 4A-4 play at 2-0.
“We have to control the ball on offense,” Tyler said. “We have to control the clock like we did against Hilldale. We need to try to keep their offense off the field. If we can do that, it will definitely help out quite a bit. Defensively, we just have to limit them on their big plays. They’re capable of scoring from anywhere on the field. We definitely will have to be solid on defense. It’s going to be a tough task I feel like, but that’s part of (District) 4A-4 football. It’s the SEC of (Class) 4A. There’s no weeks off. You have to go to work every week. I think we just need to get on the bus with the right mentality and don’t be scared. We just need to go play the best we can play.”
Last week, the Black Diamonds were battling sickness as well as injuries. That has not been the case, for the most part, this week as they prepare for the district showdown tonight against the Savages.
“We’re healthy all the way around,” Tyler said. “We’ve just got some bumps and bruises. It’s Week 5. We’re halfway through the season, so you’re going to have some bumps and bruises, but again it’s nothing major.”
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TO GET THERE — Take U.S. 59 south past Heavener and Hodgen to U.S. 259. Take U.S. 259 south to Broken Bow.
