Round Two

As the playoffs continue, the competition grows stronger. And with the Class C 8-Man Chinook Sugarbeters and Class C Six-Man Big Sandy Pioneers making their way into the second round of the state football playoffs, both teams have a tough task at hand this weekend.

Saturday at 1 p.m. both the Beeters and Pioneers will attempt to keep their seasons alive. The Beeters will take to the road and face the No. 1 Western Charlo Vikings. And the Pioneers will host the No. 3 Eastern Richey-Lambert Lions in Big Sandy.

Last weekend in first round action, the Pioneers defeated Stanford/Geyser 48-21. And coming off of a big win at home, the Pioneers are excited to get back to work.

"The kids are excited to make it to the next round," Big Sandy head coach Greg King said. "And hopefully we can make through a couple more. Each week feeds off the last, and the kids know they have had a successful season and they are proud of what they did. We are taking it week to week now, and from what I have seen so far (from the Lions) I like our chances."

The Lions are a talented squad with some good talent. And coming off of a 60-31 dominating win over Bridger, it's clear that they have very talented offense. And the run game seems to be the Lions bread and butter, as they rushed for six touchdowns last Saturday.

Putting a halt to Jeremy Evans will be key for the Pioneers, as will be Jeremy Switzer.

"Each week the competition gets better and better," King said. "And that means we have to perform the fundamentals better and better."

And on offense, the Pioneers just have to do what they have done all season. The Pioneers have had great success running and passing the ball this year. But with the reputation King has of loving the run game, the Pioneers are looking to set up their ground game. But weather it takes the run game to set up the pass game, or the pass game to set up the run game, the Pioneers are prepared to do whatever it takes, and just take what the defense gives them.

"We'll make adjustments as we go," King said " If we need to we can pull something out of the arsenal and let her rip."

Chinook is also excited to keep its season alive, as the Beeters too have a very tough opponent this weekend.

"You are always excited you get to keep the pads for another week," Chinook head coach Matt Molyneaux said. "We are excited and ready to go, and we think we have as good of chance as anybody going into this thing."

The Beeters face a team that can put up points in a hurry through the air as well as on the ground. The Vikings are coming off of a 58-50 shootout win over White Sulphur Springs to remain undefeated on the season. And Viking's senior quarterback Chico Stripe racked up 225 yards in the air as well as five touchdowns.

But if the Beeters' defense can put a lid on the Vikings offense, they have to like their chances.

"They spread the offense but run an awful lot out of it too," Molyneaux said. "It just depends, but you prepare for what you see. We are preparing for a good passing game."

Behind the power and speed of Tyler Molyneaux and Ben Stroh, the Beeters have had a very productive ground game this season, showing they can put up points in a hurry as well.

The Beeters have rushed for over 2,500 yards and a total of 48 touchdowns this season. And if the Beeters defense can put a stop to the Viking offense, Chinook's offense has what it takes to put up points in what will hopefully be a second round win.

"That's our plan." Molyneaux said. "Our line strength goes hand in hand with our run game, and behind the strength of our line, that's what we would have to call our bread and butter. That's (the run game) is what we are looking to push through with."

This game though a playoff game will be treated like any other road game, and as long as the Beeters go out and do what they have done all season long, Chinook will have a very good chance at grabbing the win.

"We have brought that up and talked about it." Molyneaux said. "We have talked about focusing on the road, and I don't think that is going to be a difficult thing. We will be focused.

Saturday at 1 p.m. the Beeters face Charlo on the road at 1 p.m. And Saturday in Big Sandy, the Pioneers will host Richey-Lambert, also at 1 p.m.