CAM hosts Sidney in crucial Week 9 showdown

Cougars have won three in a row, will face Sidney with third and fourth seed in tow

By Drew Herron - NT Sports Editor / Oct. 25, 2013

ANITA – CAM is coming off a bye week, and that break has helped the Cougars in a number of ways.

It has allowed the blue-and-silver to heal up a bit physically, rework the schemes on both sides of the ball, and lastly, it’s given Cumberland-Anita-Massena two weeks to prepare for what is now the most important game of the season.

With a playoff spot already locked up, Week 9’s bout with Sidney brings with it a playoff-like atmosphere one week early, serving as a bit of a trial run before the high stakes of the postseason arrive.

“We’ve gone through all the scenarios,” CAM head coach Joe Wollum said this week. “Now it just comes down to us needing to win to get that (No.) 3 seed, instead of worrying about (points differential). We will approach this like a playoff game, a third seed or a fourth is what we are playing for.”

Sidney rolls in with a 7-1 record and 5-1 mark in District 8. The Cowboys currently sit in a three-way tie for first place, along with Fremont-Mills and Southwest Valley. Southwest Valley holds the top standing based on tiebreaker criteria, and should the Timberwolves get past 2-6 Stanton Friday night, will earn the top seed. Fremont-Mills travels to 4-4 Lenox, leaving CAM and Sidney to fight it out for the No. 3 seed or the No. 4 heading into the playoffs.

Sidney has been impressive most of the season, averaging 50 points per game while surrendering on average 25. The Cowboys are coming off a 63-34 win over Stanton last week, and have picked up a signature victory this season over Southwest Valley (30-26) in Week 3.

Sidney has played its last two games without the services of junior quarterback Mitchell Coates, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury he suffered early on during the Cowboys’ loss to Fremont-Mills on Oct. 4.

Whether Coates plays Friday against CAM remains to be seen, but the Cougars will be prepared either way.

The Cowboys are a run-first offense led by senior running back Chris Osborne, whose 1,382 yards and 24 touchdowns put him fifth on the state’s leaderboard.

With an average of 14.4 yards-per-carry, Osborne is going to be a handful for any defense he faces.

“When we talk about what we’ve seen before, like Clayton Plowman (from Adair-Casey). We all know how good of a running back he is, and he’s only at nine or 10 yards a carry. To see what Osborne is doing at 14 yards-per-carry, it’s pretty unbelievable,” coach Wollum said this week.

“We need to do a good job of bumping him at the line of scrimmage to slow him down, and everyone else needs to fly to the football. We need to stay in our lanes and try to bring him down, because he’s a good cutback runner.”

When Coates is in the game, he brings another element to the Sidney offense. Because opposing defenses have to pay so much attention to Osborne, Coates has been able to take the opportunities presented to him with his able passing ability and foot speed.

“They’re a run-first team, but when they do pass, they are effective with it,” coach Wollum says. “They do everything well.”

CAM has played a fast-paced offense all year, but in this game against this opponent, look for the Cougars to perhaps try to slow things down and be deliberate with their drives in an attempt to limit Sidney’s possessions and shorten the game.

On the home front, CAM (4-4) continues to grow with its offense and defense after a rocky start threatened to derail its playoff streak. Now, the Cougars have won three straight games, and are doing it with balance. 

Improvements and adjustments on the defensive side have translated into takeaways and forcing punts, and those things coach Wollum says have helped drive the team forward.

Earlier on, CAM was scrambling to plug players into the right spots. Now, those guys have settled into their roles, and everyone is now executing better and has a better understanding of what the opposing offenses are trying to accomplish.

The CAM offense is coming along as well. The growth can be partly attributed to the development of the reshuffled offensive line, and a big part has to do with the growth and maturation process of junior quarterback Trace Ticknor, who continues to learn under center.

“The first couple games, Trace probably threw the ball a little more than he wanted to,” coach Wollum says. “But he has matured, and now he knows better when to pull it down and run and try to make a play with his feet instead of trying to force passes.”

Ticknor has passed for 1,400 yards and has rushed for another 636 yards on the ground, giving him 2,036 combined yards for the season.

Friday night offers one final week for the Cougars to play at home and weather the turmoil and pressure certain to follow every team as the regular season fades into the playoffs.

“No matter where we go, whether it’s to face Exira-EHK or Glidden-Ralston (in the playoffs), that’s going to be quite an atmosphere considering how well those two teams are playing right now,” coach Wollum says.