FAYETTEVILLE — West Fork's defense of its 2008 4-4A Conference title started inauspiciously Friday night at Pottsville.
After going undefeated in conference play last year, West Fork dropped its league opener 33-7. The Tigers (3-1, 0-1) arrived in the River Valley riding the crest of a seven-game conference winning streak. A 3-0 start had given them wins in 12 of their 13 games, but Friday night they ran into a determined Pottsville team.
"You have to give credit to Pottsville," said Rodney Selph, West Fork's second year head coach who last year led the Tigers to their first conference title since 1985. "They playedhard and pounded it right down our throats."
West Fork expected a game effort from the Apaches (3-1, 1-0). They led West Fork at halftime last year before falling 18-9.
"Pottsville is a good team," Selph said. "They're big, strong and fast. They're going to do well this year."
Four turnovers and untimely penalties conspired against a West Fork offense that had averaged 29 points during the first three weeks of the season. Pottsville converted two of the turnovers into touchdowns and were aided by a West Fork holding penalty that negated an Isaac Muggy touchdown pass on the Tigers' first offensiveseries.
An 80-yard touchdown run by senior tailback Garrett Eakins was all the scoring West Fork could muster. The seven-point output was its lowest in conference play since an eight-point performanceduring a 2007 loss to Shiloh Christian.
"It was just one of those nights where everything went wrong," Selph said. "We had four turnovers. That's something this team hadn't done. We haven't had problems with turnovers. We're just going to mark it up to one of those nights and get ready for Dover (3-1, 1-0) next week."
Pottsville's 19 first-half points almost equaled the 23 West Fork's defense surrendered the first three weeks. The defense wasn't entirely at fault. The offense's inability to sustain possession left the defense overexposed to Pottsville's power running game.
"The things they did took us out of our game plan," Selph said. " Overall, the defense didn't play horribly. They were just on the field all night. Offensively, we couldn't get anything going."
The defense limited Pottsville to two big plays, touchdown runs of 25 and 65 yards, but Pottsville controlled the ball with consistent gains on the ground.
A three-man front featuring quick linementhat shot through gaps in the offensive line served West Fork well during its 3-0 start. Friday night they shifted to a bigger, four-man front to counter Pottsville's two-tight, Dead T formation.
"We changed a little bit of what we do to adjust to what they do," Selph said.
Winning the conference title last year put aconspicuous target on the Tigers back. Unlike last year, when opponents may have underestimated West Fork, the Tigers are no longer flying under the radar.
"Last year, we probably did sneak up on some people," Selph said. "This year teams are going to be geared up to play us, so we have to be prepared each week."
Sports, Pages 10, 8 on 09/27/2009