Myriad of contributions have paved way for Strong’s fast start

The last time Strong started a season 3-0, the year was 2010 and Kenneth Dixon was a junior two-way standout years away from reaching the NFL.

That season, the Bulldogs went 10-2 and reached the second round of the playoffs.

A year later, the Bulldogs would again win 10 games with Dixon leading the charge toward Strong’s run to the 2A state title.

A decade later, the Bulldogs are playing eight-man football after fighting low numbers for several consecutive seasons, but the new format has quickly taken hold with Strong’s solid start.

In starting 3-0, the Bulldogs have gotten contributions from a number of spots.

The offense scored 84 points combined in wins over Hermitage and Marvell, the defense has been stingy, allowing just 18 points in three games and the special teams delivered a touchdown in the win over Episcopal Collegiate.

Heading into tonight’s non-conference game against Brinkley, the Bulldogs have allowed the fewest points of any school playing eight-man football.

When asked what the key to the Bulldogs’ success on defense has been, Strong coach Sirl Wright had a simple answer.

“Relentless pursuit,” Wright said. “Even though eight-man is a little more wide open, you’ve got to emphasize to those guys on the back side that still have got to run to the ball. I try to emphasize to always pursue the ball. We’ve got enough team speed to run with anybody, but if that first guy misses, we need somebody there to be for the secondary person to tackle.

“I always emphasize bend but don’t break. If you bend and you give them more and more chances, a lot of times, teams will make a mistake or you will force them into a mistake. I emphasize to them just be relentless and pursue the ball.”

Senior Byron Maze has played a pivotal role for the Bulldogs in their wins over Episcopal Collegiate and Marvell.

Maze recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown in Strong’s 14-6 win over Episcopal Collegiate and last week against Marvell, he accounted for three touchdowns, throwing a 35-yard touchdown pass to LaQuincy Shelton while adding a 1-yard touchdown run and catching a 24-yard touchdown pass from Shelton.

For added measure, he caught five passes for 122 yards and rushed for 67 yards on just five carries.

“He’s a senior and he’s playing like a true senior,” Wright said of Maze. “He’s showing leadership. He’s doing selfless acts. When his number gets called, he steps up and he makes sure he executes what’s asked of him. I’m proud of him.”

Shelton, who threw for 135 yards last week and has scored at least one rushing touchdown in each of the first three games, shared quarterback duties last week with Maze, but Wright said that was due to matchups.

“It’s kind of game by game,” Wright said. “I look at matchups and if we have a stronger matchup in a certain set or formation, I’m not afraid of going and stretching our offensive ability. Some coaches run pretty much the same eight plays left and right for the entirety of the season. I’m more of a matchup guy. I feel like if we’ve got the other team on the speed factor, I’ll position guys and their talents to that. If it’s more of a power game and we can overpower our opponent, I’ll place those positions. I look at it more like chess instead of checkers.”

It also helps that Shelton and Maze have the flexibility to move around to different spots and not lose any effectiveness on opposing defenses.

“That’s one thing that I emphasize to all of the kids is to learn everything and always strive to have a high football IQ,” Wright said. “The higher your IQ is, the more we can do stuff because people get used to you being at one spot, and then when you change up and do something entirely different, it takes them a minute to adjust, and that’s when you can exploit a weakness.

“One of the factors when we scored and shifted up and moved people around, Marvell didn’t know exactly what to do and when we had them at their weakness, we just exploited those weaknesses. It works for us, and I credit the kids of executing and being coachable at the same time.”

Now the Bulldogs must face Brinkley before a bye week with conference showdowns against Woodlawn, Spring Hill and Mountain Pine that will determine their postseason outlook.

“They’re 2-2, but I think they’re a pretty solid team,” Wright said of the Tigers. “They’ve got some athletes, they’ve got some size. They try to execute, but I think they’ve just had a bad roll of the dice with turnovers. They’re a pretty solid team.”

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