No. 3 Sulphur will open district play with a very tough test, as the Dogs travel to Perkins to face a state semifinalist from last season.
The Dogs (2-1) are fresh off blowout wins at home over Davis and Cache and will look to move the win streak to three Friday on the road.
Perkins is also 2-1, blowing out Dewey 49-0 in its first game, losing a close one to Cushing two weeks ago and then cruising past Daniel Webster 55-6 last Friday.
The Demons were a play or two away from beating eventual state champion Lincoln Christian last year in the state semifinals and do have some players returning from that team.
“This is a team that I don’t understand why they are not ranked,” said Sulphur head coach Corey Cole. “They are a really good football team and only lost to Cushing, who is a top six or seven team in Class 4A. We have a very big and tough challenge in front of us on Friday night.”
Perkins has several playmakers back, including junior QB Beau Gravitt.
He has completed 77% of passes for 153 yards and three scores through the first three games.
Perkins also has a dynamic weapon in Braiton Applegate, who plays running back, receiver and is a star on defense.
“He is extremely fast and physical and overall just a great player,” said Cole.
Applegate has just 12 touches on offense but three are for touchby downs on the young season.
Wyatt Atkinson leads the Demons in rushing, carrying 25 times for 190 yards and four touchdowns through three games.
“Offensively they want to run the football and throw their quick game and short game,” Cole said. “They are trying to keep the ball away from you and make you get out of your rhythm.”
Defensively, Perkins will try to complicate things with a new-age defense that lines up differently on every play and aims for confusion.
“It causes great confusion and they are really good at it,” Cole said. “We have a huge challenge in front of us and for our offensive line. This is something that is really hard to replicate in practice. We have got to pay attention. They have got four starters back on defense and some of their leading sack guys back from last year so it’s going to be tough.”
Cole spoke about weathering the craziness and staying true to what they want to do offensively.
“They play really hard and are going to do some things to frustrate us,” Cole said. “Good teams do that to you. We have to be ready to play on the road and rely on our leadership when we face adversity.”
For Sulphur, as Perkins will try to shorten the game and run their ball control offense, the Dogs need to keep doing what they have been doing all season.
“We have to stay true to our identity and that is playing physically, flying to the football and get off to a fast start again,” Cole said.
After the Dogs fell to Lincoln Christian in the quarterfinals, Perkins narrowly lost 17-10 to Lincoln and finished the season 11-2.
The Dogs have played Perkins twice in the playoffs, winning 34-7 in 2018 and losing 35-6 in 2019.
“They are a well coached team that is really good, so we have got to be ready to play,” Cole said, “We have a 2-hour trip, its a district game and they are a good team, so we have our work cut out for us.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
