The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

High School Sports

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September 6, 2012

Seneca expects 'typical Big 8 game' from Aurora

By Richard Polen Globe Sports Writer

— Seneca has been involved in a high-scoring football game and a low-scoring struggle so far this season.

The Indians travel to Aurora at 7 p.m. today in a contest that has early-season implications in the Big 8 Conference and the Class 3 district playoff seedings.

“We’re expecting a very typical Big 8 Conference game,” said Seneca head coach Dan Scheible. “We think Aurora is a very good football team and a very physical football team. And they always play well at home.”

Aurora, 2-0, defeated East Newton 40-7 last week. Seneca, meanwhile, scored two late touchdowns and defeated Lamar 13-6 after a 61-47 loss to Carthage in its previous game.

“The first one was a high-scoring game,” Scheible said. “The second game was a great defensive effort. The big stat was scoring defense. We let them in the end zone once.”

The contrasting styles led Aurora head coach Rick Scholten to draw his conclusions about what to expect tonight.

“They’ll do whatever they need to do to try to compete and win a ballgame,” Scholten said. “Against Carthage, they scored a bunch of points.

“They have a balanced offense, especially in the Big 8,” he said. “Their quarterback (Payton Rawlins) does a nice job of standing in the pocket and throwing the ball.”

Aurora’s passing game was restrained by a steady rain during the Houn’ Dawgs’ game against East Newton, he said.

“If you ask people about us, they’ll say we try to establish the run,” Scholten said. “We have tried to spread things out a little more. We had 10 pass attempts against East Newton because of the conditions and the rain.

“It will be a very physical football game. Seneca has some physical kids who play hard-nosed football on offense and defense.”

Seneca’s approach to the game against Aurora is subject to change based on several factors, Scheible said.

“It’s always a key to be balanced offensively and we’ll see what’s successful for us,” he said. “We’ve shown we have the potential to be a good football team.”

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