WEST FORK — Isaac Muggy's 13.7-yard-per-carry average was the mainstay of West Fork's offense the first two weeks of the season.
The sprained ankle the senior quarterback suffered on the Tigers' second offensive series last week against Prairie Grove forced West Fork to expand its offensive repertoire. Opening up the play book led to a 35-16 victory.
With his movement limited, Muggy's arm burned the Prairie Grove defense for touchdown passes of 47 and 40 yards to Lee Gaesswitz. Muggy has kept his ankle iced and stretched this week in preparation for Friday night's 7 p.m. kickoff at Pottsville.
The game marks the start of West Fork's defense of the 4-4A Conference title it captured last season. The Tigers (3-0) were undefeated in league action last season and have won 12 of their last 13 games.
"[Muggy] should be all right by Friday," said Rodney Selph, West Fork's head coach. "We're going to plan as if he's 100 percent. He's still a threat to run, and teams will have to honor that."
Teams are gaining respect for the speed and power of senior tailback Garrett Eakins, who ran for 128 yards on 15 carries last week. Eakins, who hadn't played football since his freshman year, prevents defenses from focusing on Muggy.
"He's going to get 15-to-17 carries, and he's going to have some big games" Selph said. "We're definitely glad he decided to come back out for football."
The downhill running of junior Logan Genz complements Eakins' speed. Genz had touchdown runs of 24 and 8 yards last week. West Fork has several formations where Eakins and Genz both line up in the backfield, making the Tigers' running game even more formidable.
The Pottsville game has served as a barometer of West Fork's success the previous three seasons. A blowout of Pottsville in 2006 ushered in the winningest season in West Fork history. The Apaches (2-1) beat West Fork the next year, contributing the Tigers' 3-6-1 finish in 2007.
West Fork avenged the defeat last season and won its next six conference games en route to its first league title since 1985.
"They're solid again this year," Selph said. "They run a two-tight, Dead T. They're a power football team. It's a long trip down there, so we'll have to be focused and prepared."
Big plays plague Prairie Grove defense
PRAIRIE GROVE - A tough nonconference schedule has Prairie Grove winless heading into its 1-4A Conference opener Friday against Huntsville (1-2).
Prairie Grove head coach Danny Abshier said there's no time to lament the winless start with Huntsville coming to town for the 7 p.m. kickoff.
"If you're focused on the next game, you better not stay down long or you'll get kicked again," he said. "We've just got to go back to work."
An overaggressive secondary eager to provide run support has given up four touchdown passes of 20 yards or longer this season. Abshier said the back end of the defense has to play with more discipline and keep free runners out of the defensive backfield.
"We've got to stay back and think pass first before assuming it's a run," Abshier said. "We gave up two touchdowns last week, and both were due to us assuming too quickly that it was going to be a run."
The Tiger secondary will be tempted to crowd the line of scrimmage again this week. Huntsville junior Phillip Hoskins ran for 125 yards and 3 touchdowns to pace the Eagles' 36-8 win over Elkins last week. In three games, he's compiled almost 500 rushing yards.
Cardinal offense perks up
FARMINGTON - After scoring one offensive touchdown the first two weeks of the season, the Farmington Cardinals found the end zone seven times during their 46-0 mercy-rule rout of Marshall last week.
The Cardinals (1-2) hope their offensive continues to click when they welcome Gentry to Allen Holland Field for Friday's 7 p.m. 1-4A Conference opener.
Senior quarterback Chance Hyslip authored his best game of the year against Marshall, completing 6-of-9 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. He was aided by a ground game that chewed up 245 yards.
Sophomore Deon Clay accounted for 124 of those yards, but sophomore Jared Martin and junior Josh Burnett added to their team-leading rush totals. Martin's 146 yards leads the team, followed by Burnett's 145 yards. He ran for 66 yards and 3 touchdowns last week.
Sports, Pages 10 on 09/25/2009