The Milbank Area Bulldogs put in a hard week of practice in anticipation of meeting one of their biggest rivals. The Dawgs travel to... Football Preview: Bulldogs Set to Battle Rivals

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The Milbank Area Bulldogs put in a hard week of practice in anticipation of meeting one of their biggest rivals. The Dawgs travel to Sisseton to take on the Redmen this Friday night and are focused on racking up their sixth win of the season.

The Bulldogs currently are 5-2 while the Redmen are 2-4. “When playing our rivals, all records go out the window,” noted Milbank Area head football coach Jeremy Tostenson. “We will have our hands full, but if we play one play at a time, we will be OK.”

The Redmen have secured wins over Flandreau and Mobridge-Pollock, but have fallen to Sioux Valley, Redfield-Doland, Groton Area and Aberdeen Roncalli. Sisseton has a new coach to lead its team this season. Kasey Metz, who is also the head wrestling coach, has brought back the team’s spread offense and its 4-3 defense. “Coach Metz has been in Sisseton all his life so he knows his athletes,” stated Tostenson. “They run more offensive formations than we have seen from a team all season.”

Tostenson stated that the Bulldogs need to be able to identify formations, make the correct calls and be disciplined with its reads. “We always need to win first down, get off the field on third down and improve on giving up the big plays,” he mentioned. “Offensively, we need to continue to be physical running the football.”

The locals have worked hard on some key aspects of the game this week. The defense has worked on its fits and not giving up big plays while the offense is getting better at its running game. The team will further its use of a two-man quarterback offense with Isaac Snaza and Jonny Ash sharing the duties depending on the game situations.

With two games remaining in the regular season, Milbank Area has its sites on making the playoffs. “Winning this week will put us in a position to make the playoffs,” stated Tostenson. With the new playoff system in Class 11A, the top eight teams in the class will advance to the playoffs. Region play has been eliminated, therefore the top eight teams will be seeded accordingly following all regular season contests.

The Bulldogs currently sit in the seventh position in the class with 42.571 power points. The top eight teams as of today include St. Thomas More, Madison, West Central, Belle Fourche, Lennox, Sioux Falls Christian, Milbank Area and Tea Area.

Watch The Valley Express to access the score, highlights, and photos.

Staff Writer

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