Over the past two weeks, the Dodge City Red Demons have made tackling an emphasis at practice.
Last week, the extra work paid off as the Red Demon defense kept Liberal off of the scoreboard in the 69-0 victory.
“We’ve taken it a step further,” head coach Dave Foster said. “Last week it was very fundamental and basic. This week we addressed very specific details that we felt like we were missing which was the aggressiveness of the tackling.”
Foster said that his team wanted to be the most explosive 1-2 team in the state following their 53-48 loss the Wichita Heights. After a 69-point performance against Liberal, the Red Demons have proven that they have one of the most explosive offenses in Kansas.
Senior quarterback Caden Walters accounted for eight of the 10 Dodge City touchdowns last Friday as they started their Western Athletic Conference schedule with a win.
In his second year as the Red Demons signal caller, Walters has been the key to Dodge City’s highpowered offense that is averaging just under 53 points per game.
Walters has been a threat both in the air and on the ground for opposing defenses this season. Through four games, Walters has thrown for 11 touchdowns and has run for seven more.
This Friday the Red Demons will take their potent offensive show on the road to play their first road WAC game of the season against Great Bend.
“We’re 2-2 and we want to be the most explosive and potent 2-2 team out there,” Foster said. “(Great Bend) is a WAC challenge. A WAC championship is something that these guys know is realistic for us to accomplish and set ourselves up for an opportunity to get into the playoffs.”
Great Bend (3-1, 1-1) heads into their matchup with Dodge City (2-2, 1-0) having already played half of their WAC schedule. The Panthers beat Hays 40-29 in week two before falling to Garden City 42-28 in week three.
Much like Dodge City’s offense, Great Bend has had a lot of production from their quarterback. Junior Jacob Murray has thrown for six touchdowns and run for an additional seven scores. Murray is the Panthers leading rusher so far this season.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
By John Zetmeir, Dodge City Daily Globe
