Prep Football: Motivating Factors
When Al Way was hired back to Harrisburg, it was done so to restore not only tradition, but a few more wins to the Bulldog program.
Halfway through the season, Way and company have done just that.
Minus a Week 1 loss at Mt. Carmel, Harrisburg has rattled off four straight and look for that special fifth win Friday at Benton.
Not only would a win give Harrisburg its first winning season since 2012, but would also qualify the Bulldogs for the postseason … something else that hasn't happened for Harrisburg since 2012.
Coincidentally, 2012 was the last time Harrisburg beat Benton, winning 20-7 at Taylor Field. Since then, the Rangers have won two straight.
The Bulldogs (4-1, 2-2) have won 6 of its last 9 meetings against the Rangers, who come into Friday night's contest 2-3 overall and 1-1 in league play.
Benton head coach Jeremy Clodfelder is 3-5 against Harrisburg and has made the playoffs in just two of his first eight seasons with the Rangers.
This will be the first time however since 1993 that a "Roper" either former Benton head coach Jeff or former Harrisburg head coach Jason won't be the head coach of the respective teams Friday.
Aside from not winning at Benton since the 2009 season, Way knows a hostile environment awaits his team Friday night, against what he calls a "solid" Ranger team.
"They gave Herrin a really tough ballgame," Way said of Benton, who lost to the Tigers 32-14 two weeks ago "They do some of the same things that Massac County did, which of course created problems for us, because we didn't defend Massac County very well. The thing about Benton is they throw the ball better than Massac County did and (Benton) will spread the field on you."
A focal point for Way on defense will be to scheme up a plan to stop Benton sophomore quarterback Hamilton Page, who quickly caught the attention of the Harrisburg head coach.
"Their quarterback is a big running threat, not just a passing, but a running threat," Way said. "They have a lot of kids back from last year and probably return about 90 percent of their team from last year, so I think they figured they were going to be fairly solid this year."
After stunning Carterville in Week 1 to start the season, Benton didn't notch their second victory until just last Saturday when the knocked off county rival West Frankfort 29-7 in a game where Page ran for 140 yards on 21 carries and passed for 82 on 7-of-13.
The Harrisburg defense was a sore spot for Way, especially after the Bulldogs had to come from behind to beat Massac County 34-30 last week.
The inconsistencies on defense and allowing the Patriots long runs, were something Way called, "a killer."
"We just have to perform, it comes down to the same old thing. You can't turn the ball over and give up long touchdowns. You make a team drive down the field and maybe they'll make a mistake. You give them 50 and 60 yard runs and they are already there.
"I was just disappointed in how we played defensively and how we refused to stay home on the backside. After watching the film, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was, but offensively we blocked pretty well after we figured out what they were doing to us and where we could attack them."
As Harrisburg goes in search of its fifth straight win and look to cement a spot in the postseason, Way knows the task at hand will be beating a Benton ball club that has long been a rival in the SIRR Ohio Division.
"That should be the motivation, just the fact that if we can win Friday night we have a winning season," Way said. "There shouldn't have to be any big motivational speeches. They know Benton is a solid team and they know they have to play well or at least better defensively than they did last week to have a chance."
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.