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Jasper going for district crown Friday night
The Jasper Bulldogs head into Friday nights matchup versus Center going for their sixth consecutive district crown, but it won't be easy. Both teams are undefeated in district play with 3-0 records and Center brings with them an "Air Raid" offense and a strong running attack led by all-star running back Keamondre Horace.
Jasper comes in as heavy favorites as a top ten team in Texas 4A, head coach Darrell Barbay expects a battle for the district crown.
"We're excited for the opportunity," said Barbay, who's had the top job at Jasper since 2012.
"Both teams are undefeated (in district), Friday nights game will be one of our better tests this year. Our kids are excited and it's good for our program."
Jasper is rolling with three straight wins over district foes Shepard, Huntington, and Tarkington, averaging nearly 50 points per win. the Bulldogs will rely on their run game with all-district candidate Montavien Hunt at running back along with sidekick Carl Limbrick.
"We're going to try and control the ball and limit their possessions," said Barbay.
"Thats one way to stop them is not let them touch the ball. Our philosophy is to run the ball, run the clock, play great defense, and make sure they don't touch it. Offensively we feel like we can score."
The winner Friday night will get the all important number one seed going into next weeks playoffs and the Bulldogs are a confident team as they look at another post-Thanksgiving playoff run.
"If you're going to get to Dallas you're going to have to beat whoever you run into. You're either going to run into them in the second, third, or fourth rounds to get there. It's going to be nice for us to play for the district championship but we're going to face whoever we need to face at some point. Our kids are confident."
A Friday night win would give Barbay his 64th win at Jasper and 144th overall in nineteen years as a head coach.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30pm at Bulldog Field in Jasper.
Click on the play button below to listen to the podcast interview with Jasper HC Darrell Barbay.
Photo Credit: Bradley Collier, VYPE Media
Week 5 Preview: Jasper Confident Heading into Week 5 (W/ Podcast)
The Jasper Bulldogs are coming off a tough Week 4 loss to Diboll, 14-9, but it was all part of the plan according to head football coach Darrell Barbay.
"We're OK," said Barbay, "Dogs are always going to be alright."
The game with Diboll was not originally scheduled, both teams had separate games which were cancelled earlier in the week due to flooding from Tropical Storm Imelda. Both coaches agreed to play each other late Thursday afternoon.
That left no time for game planning.
"I held a couple of kids out for the opponent I thought we were going to play," said Barbay.
"I didn't let some kids play because they hadn't practiced that week, it came back to us, we're better for it, we needed to play."
The Bulldogs had already experienced a cancellation to Lumberton in Week 1 due to lightening. Now they take on a humbled La Marque team that is coming off a 62-0 loss to West Columbia last week.
"They're a very athletic team," said Barbay.
"Defensively they're going to line up and come after you. They swarm to the ball, they fly around, they tackle good. Offensively they spread the ball, will run the inside zone with their pro style. We will need to play well."
The Jasper offense will continue to ground and pound with their running game, led by Carl Limbrick and Montavian Hunt. Hunt is coming off a "high ankle sprain" but will be ready for Friday night.
"He's the type of kid who'll never say he can't go," said Barbay.
"Hunt is a special kid for us who will touch the ball a lot Friday night."
On defense, Avion Bennett (2020, LB, 17 Solo Tackles) and Shean Singleton (2021, LB, 9 Solo Tackles, 5 TFL) lead a crew who only gives up 14 points a game and thrive off sacks (8) and interceptions (4).
"We've played solid defense all year, last week was probably the best defense we've played all season," said Barbay.
"Terrien Collins had a great game for us with three interceptions, he's really stepped it up. We're playing really good ball defensively right now."
Next week the Bulldogs take on a tough West Orange-Stark team and then open their season October 11 on the road at Shepard.
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VYPE SETX PODCAST: Jasper HC Darryl Barbay - Week 5 Preview