The first two weeks of the season have been feast or famine for Smackover.
After opening the season with a 36-0 win over Parkers Chapel two weeks ago, the Bucks were held to just 32 yards of total offense in a 20-0 loss at Junction City last week.
Tonight, the Bucks (1-1) look to bounce back by hitting the road to face Hampton (0-1), their third straight opponent from the 8-2A to finish their non-conference slate.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Hampton.
The Bulldogs opened their season two weeks ago with a 49-0 loss at Centerpoint and were idle last week.
“Hampton will do a good job of trying to spread the field and get matchups they want,” said Smackover coach David Osborn. “They have some backs (Zy Johnson and Mi’corrie Lindsey) who both run hard and downhill. Ta’vion Galbert is a player that can completely change a game at any time on both sides of the ball.
“For us, we need to make sure we have proper alignments and play solid technique on both sides of the ball. On both sides of the ball, I really feel like we need to be aggressive and always be on the attack.”
With a bye week on tap and their conference opener coming up in two weeks against Lake Village, this is the Bucks’ final dress rehearsal to get the kinks ironed out.
“It’s our last non-conference game, so we need to use this time to fix the mistakes,” Osborn said. “For us to be successful, we have to learn from the previous game. Hopefully we will be able to get through this game without any more injuries and get prepared for our conference play.”
Last week against Junction City, the Bucks had three turnovers while going a combined 3-of-24 on third- and fourth-down conversions.
“Junction did a good job of game planning for us, but we also had several missed assignments and missed blocks,” Osborn said. “We had 64 offensive plays in the game and breaking it down, we made too many mistakes.
“I’m always very critical of ourselves and after breaking down the end zone film, it was obvious that we had some mistakes that just continued to hurt us all game long. Any time you are limited on offense, it’s concerning, but after looking at it, the amount of mental mistakes we made were just unacceptable, and we have had to make some changes this week to correct them.”
Osborn said he was pleased with the effort of his team against Junction City.
“We played well at times,” Osborn said. “I was proud of how the kids continued to fight until the end. It was a good learning experience for us as a team. Going back and breaking down the film, we were able to find several areas that we need to clean up if we are going to be successful this season.”
One bright spot for the Bucks came from the defense forcing five turnovers.
“I thought our defense played well minus a few plays early on,” Osborn said. “We were missing starters at outside (line)backer and strong side (defensive) end due to injuries from the PC game, so we had some younger players have to grow up fast,” Osborn said.
“We were able to get several key stops at times that kept us in the game. Early on, we had a misalignment that put us at a disadvantage and caused us to give up a couple of big plays early on. As the game went on, our guys were able to make the adjustments and toughen up.
“Looking back at the game, we had the misalignment issue and later on gave them the ball on the 2-yard line on a dropped punt, resulting in 12 of their 20 points. Against a good team like Junction, you can’t make those kinds of mistakes.”
If the Bucks are to finish their non-conference schedule on a high note, Osborn said his team must win the battle in the trenches.
“As with any game, we have to have success on both lines of scrimmage,” Osborn said. “Last week at Junction, they were able to control the front on both sides at times, and it really put us in a bind. For us to have success in the game, it’s really basic. We have to come out and play. We need to limit our mistakes, win the turnover battle and take advantage of them. We can’t miss any opportunities that are given to us.
“Offensively, we need to get the ball in the hands of our playmakers and get them out in space. Defensively, we must keep our scheme integrity and not get caught in a misalignment. We have to adjust to their formations, and above all, we must tackle better.”