HOWARD — The 56th meeting between the Danville Blue Devils and the East Knox Bulldogs features more than just the biggest rivalry in Knox County.
You want subplots? This game has them.
Saturday night’s football game will feature Danville, a team which has locked up a home game in the Division VI regional playoffs, vying for a No. 1 seed in the region. East Knox is a solid win away from a Division V playoff berth itself.
“You couldn’t ask for a better scenario going into Week 10,” said Danville head coach Ed Honabarger. “There’s a lot at stake on both sides, not to mention bragging rights.”
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“This is a big game. You don’t need to motivate the kids,” said East Knox head coach Calvin Hatfield. “To us, there is no bigger deal than this game.”
Both teams are the biggest surprises of the Mid-Buckeye Conference. The Blue Devils (8-1, 6-0 MBC) moved away from their long-standing triple-wing set to a modern spread offense. The switch has been, for lack of a better word, flawless. Danville quarterback Bryce Staats is 248 passing yards away from becoming the first Blue Devil to join the 2K/1K club (passing yards and rushing yards). He already owns the school record for completions, passing yards and touchdown passes in a game; as well as pass attempts, completions and touchdowns in a season. The defense, led by Conway Baldridge (10 1/2 sacks), Kyle Shultz and Marshall Magers up front and by Staats and Corey Geog in the secondary, has given up less than 14 points a game.
“(Staats) can hurt you in a whole lot of ways,” said Hatfield. “This has been a different week of preparation for us. ... The way (Staats) can buy time and can make something out of nothing, it’s important that our guys stay disciplined and play to the whistle.”
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