CCLP/DAVID MORRIS - Copperas Cove senior receiver Isaiah McGriff leaps for a catch against Harker Heights last Friday. The Dawgs face a must-win against Killeen tonight at Leo Buckley Stadium.

Dawg football faces must-win tonight against Killeen Roos

By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press
 
The Copperas Cove Bulldawgs face the real possibility of not making the playoffs for the first time since 1997.
 
With Midway sitting alone atop the district at 4-0 and four teams knotted at 2-2 fighting for the remaining three spots, a loss tonight to the Kangaroos of Killeen High would stack the deck against the Dawgs as that could put the Dawgs in a fifth-place tie with Ellison should Belton defeat the Eagles tonight.
 
“We’ve got a situation now where we’re batting and our backs are against the wall playing for the playoffs,” said Jack Welch, Copperas Cove head football coach and athletic director. “We’ve got two ball games left. All of us are jammed up in there trying to get there. Even if we win this week, it doesn’t mean we’re automatically in the playoffs either because of tiebreakers. We need to win these next two.”
 
The second-place Karker Heights Knights (3-2) have a bye tonight and finish against Killeen.
 
A win would put the Dawgs in the driver’s seat for at least the fourth spot with tiebreakers over Ellison and Killeen.
 
The Dawgs have their work cut out for them as the parody of the district has caught up to the Dawgs. Copperas Cove caught up to the Dawgs. Copperas Cove owned its Killeen counterparts for years with exception of the Roos, who have defeated the Dawgs two of the last three seasons.
 
Shoemaker broke a winless streak of 11 years with a win against the Dawgs last year and Harker Heights broke a 12-year curse with a win over Cove last week. Ellison has yet to break the streak of 11-consecutive losses.
 
The Roos (3-5, 2-2) rank near the bottom of the district in both team offense and defense.
 
The offense is averaging just over 266 yards and 14.7 points per contest with most of that coming from the quarterback position. They sit in sixth place out of seven teams about 70 yards per contest above last place Shoemaker and more than 100 yards per game behind Cove and Heights.
 
“They are big up front but not as big as we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks,” said Reb Brock, Copperas Cove defensive coordinator. “You’ll see some spread offense with one back and they run a lot of two-back sets as well.”
 
Junior quarterback Marcellus Johnson leads his team in rushing with 469 yards and three scores on 89 carries and is the fifth-best passer in the district with 77 for 155 passing for 981 yards and five touchdowns.
 
“Their quarterback runs the option game and scrambles well and they are on a two-game winning streak with wins over Ellison and Shoemaker,” said Jack Welch.
 
“He’s 6-foot-3 but he is very agile and he can run,” added Brock. “He’s rushed for 500 yards and thrown for almost 1,000.”
 
Senior running back Isaac Tolbert adds another 284 yards and two scores on 54 carries.
 
Junior Montego Mucklevaney is Johnson’s favorite target to the tune of 35 grabs for 551 yards and four scores.
 
The defense is also sixth statistically out of seven teams. They give up more than 367 yards and 30 points per contest.
 
The defense is opportunistic, however. They have a second-best six interceptions and lead the district in opponent’s fumbles with 14 recovered of 15 forced.
 
Senior defensive back Trevon Thomas leads in interceptions with three while senior defensive end Shakim Wright is their defensive leader.
 
“He’s really fast and does a good job,” said Cove offensive coordinator Tracy Welch. (Jamal King) is another good athlete. He plays hard and he plays well. When they run the four-man front they walk him up and when the run the three, they walk him back.”

 

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