Sulphur will look to build off a big win over Davis on Friday, when the Dogs host another home game as Cache comes to town.
The Dogs (1-1) rolled Davis 42-7 last week, dominating from start to finish in the home opener.
No. 3 Sulphur avenged its only loss in the series since 2015 and will now look to continue the momentum to the final non-district challenge on Friday.
“We are excited but we have to be ready,” said Sulphur head coach Corey Cole. “Just like last week when we were able to have no lull off the tough, double OT loss in the first game, we can’t let our guard down after a big win.”
Cache is 0-2 on the year, after losing 20-14 at home to Duncan (5A) to open the year and then falling 34-23 at Altus (5A) last week.
“Cache reminds me a lot of us the last couple of years,” Cole said. “They are really young and have to play a bunch of young kids, which most 4A schools don’t have to.”
“But they definitely have some good athletes and have lost two tough games to 5A teams and they were one score games in both.”
The Bulldogs will be led by senior athlete Christian Bennett, who plays wideout and linebacker.
Bennett was named to the VYPE Top 100 players in Oklahoma this summer.
Cache was 6-5 a year ago, losing to Blanchard in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
“They do some really nice things with their offense,” said Cole. “Their quarterback got hurt in the first week, but he may play this week. They run a 3-4 defense that attacks and gets up and challenges you, so we are going to have to be ready and have to execute.”
Sulphur is 3-1 all-time against Cache with wins in 2000, 2001 and 2019. The Dogs lost at Cache in the season-opener in 2018, which ended up being the season Sulphur made the state title game.
“We do have a little bad taste in our mouth from the last time we played,” Cole said. “We went all the way over there and laid an egg. They were a good football team but we did not play well. They have a really good program and will bring a different challenge to us, being a good sized 4A program.”
“They have some big strong kids that can run. They play in a tough district so they are not going to shy away from a physical football game. They are going to play and do things the right way.”
For Cole, he was impressed with how his team performed off the emotional loss at Washington and hopes the group can respond the same way this week after the opposite result.
“Our motto this week is that we are 0-0,” Cole said. “We are working all week long to be 1-0. Our kids know they have to have that mentality. We did a great job responding after coming off an emotional loss in double overtime and were able to start fast. I sort of wondered how we would respond, but it makes me feel good going forward. We have a veteran group that knows how to respond to the highs and lows, so hopefully they can come out the same way this week after a big win.”
