The Altus High School Bulldogs will play their first game of the season Friday night, Aug. 26 in Elk City. Kickoff will be at 7 PM.
Altus Bulldogs Head Football Coach Dusty Davis said, “Last Friday’s scrimmage against Weatherford went really well. We started out with our Freshmen going against Weatherford’s Freshmen, and I was really happy with the way those guys looked, both offensively and defensively, and they have picked up our schemes, they looked really good last Friday, and moved the ball up and down the field both offensively and defensively.
“We then moved into high school after that and I was really happy with where our defense was. I also fell like we tackled really well and they knew their assignments and alignments. We were lined up where we should be, and then once they figured out where the football was going,we had the whole team flying to the football. So our tackling has really improved there.” Davis went onto say that, “Offensively we looked good even though it was a little shaky to start out with, but I’m really happy with the way both sides look.”
Davis said, “Looking at this week, I told the team even though they looked good on Friday, we’ve got to get better and that there were some things they needed to work on, and they payed attention to the things they needed to fix and polish up, and we are looking forward to Friday night.”
Some of the players to watch for this season include Tucker Taft who will be playing the B Back position offensively, and he is also a Starting Rover on defense. “He is one of those players that is going to give us everything he has, Davis said.
Another is Hunter Myers who is going to run the Bulldog position on defense like an Outside Linebacker. Davis said, “He has stepped into the role and has done a really good job out there.”He will also be playing Left Tackle in offense.
“Offensively, Seniors Nathan Dela Santos and Keythen Kellison is who will start there, but we will see other guys rotate like Erick Kirby and Kelby Bates. Upfront, offensively, we have three guys who are returning Starts, two sophomores, Daniel Basara playing Center and Left Guard A.J. Hughes, and Junior Right Guard Grey Winsett.”
Returning this season includes Receivers Alvin Rodriguez and Tyler Davenport, and Garrett Gribble who will be the Bulldogs Quarterback, with Brody Rogers backing him up in that position.
“Defensively, we have five guys who are returning with some starting experience. They include Corners Nathan Dela Santos and Cole Coon, and free safety Colton Gillespie. At Wheel Backer will be Erick Kirby and Aiden Poche.
“Up front, we are going to go to a four-man front this year with Brody Rogers being our starting strong end, with Grey Winsett, A.J. Hughes, Daniel Basaa and Joele Alajandre we’ll use at those middle defensive noseguard spots, and then Todd Duncan will start at the weak end up front, Tyler Saxon is another one that could step up at either end to give us some help if needed.”
Davis said, “We are really excited about what we have. We also have a new Defensive Coordinator, Craig Collins, and we’ve changed a few things up, and the players are really responding well to him and things he’s wanting to do. He also took over our strength and conditioning for the summer.”
Davis then added, “Everything is looking good right now and we’ll see where we are at Friday.”
When asked what we can expect to see at our first game from the Bulldogs, Coach Davis said, “Number one is our players enthusiasm and effort. That’s one thing that they provide on their own. They are excited about this season and ready to get it going. Also their bond and coming together as a team.”
David did say that on the field, Elk City will be playing a offensively very similar to us. “So with both teams running the ball quite a bit, it may be a quick game.” Davis added, “Defensively, they (Elk City) still runs their odd front, but with a new head coach, they are still doing a lot of what they have done in the past.”
As far as the rest of the season, Davis said, “I feel good about us, we plan on being prepared and work week to week.”
Next week the Bulldogs will play Cache on First Responders Night, and Sept. 8 will be in Lawton to take on Lawton Ike.