VERSAILLES - A pair of Tri-County Conference rivals with identical records face off tonight when the Eldon Mustangs go on the road to face the Versailles Tigers.
Both teams come in with records of 1-6 overall and 1-4 in the conference. Eldon lost to state-ranked Boonville 56-26 last week, while the Versailles Tigers picked up their first victory by knocking off School of the Osage 34-13. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
"They're in the same boat with Osage, California and us," Versailles coach Broc Silvers said of Eldon. "If things go well, we can all beat some people."
With district play two weeks away, Eldon and Versailles want to use the next two games to position themselves in the district standings.
Eldon is in Class 3 District 5. No. 1-ranked Blair Oaks (7-0) leads the district standings with 48.77 points while Buffalo (6-1) is No. 2 with 44.31, Springfield Catholic (5-2) is No. 3 with 37.24, Salem (5-2) is No. 4 with 34.51, Logan-Rogersville (2-5) is No. 5 with 23.14, Eldon (1-6) is No. 6 with 20.76, Osage (2-5) is No. 7 with 20.76 and St. James (0-7) is No. 8 with 12.71.
"With all the seeds and stuff, you don't want to be the No. 8 seed in our district," Eldon coach Chad Hult said of the possibility of facing Blair Oaks in the first round.
Versailles is in the tight Class 2 District 4. Lamar (5-2) leads the district standings with 47.81 points, edging unbeaten Fair Grove (7-0) with 47.76. El Dorado Springs (4-3) is third with 36.02 points, Warsaw (4-3) is fourth with 34.02, Versailles (1-6) is fifth with 27.14, Stockton (2-5) is sixth with 23.48, California (1-6) is seventh with 22.67 and Butler (1-6) is eighth with 20.81.
In particular for Versailles, a couple more wins could help the Tigers secure a home game for the district first round.
Last week's win also took the weight of a winless season off the shoulders of the Tigers.
"We played well enough in spurts during the season that we knew we were capable," Silvers said. "But it felt good, no doubt. It helps us get to the five-seed (in district) and stay away from the No. 1 or No. 2 seed that first week. And we can keep growing some confidence.
"We were able to run the ball effectively (against Osage). They wouldn't let us roll out with edge pressure. We got some shots over the middle of the field and we ran for over 100 yards, so we weren't one-dimensional. And I thought our defense played really well."
Overall, senior quarterback Coby Williams has completed 122-of-201 passes for 1,380 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions while rushing for 764 yards (5.1 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns.
Senior wideout Dallas Waller continues to put up big numbers and now has 67 receptions for 759 yards and six touchdowns, while senior wideout Brayden Morrison has 19 catches for 208 yards and three TDs and junior wideout Michael Bell has 16 catches for 157 yards.
Senior linebacker Quinn Randall paces the Tigers in tackles with 58 - including 49 solo - while Williams, a safety, has 35 and defensive end Waller has 27.
"The Williams kid at quarterback is quite a player," Hult said. "It all starts with the quarterback for them, but (Waller) and (Morrison) are really talented receivers. And (senior running back Jordan King) is a downhill type runner. And their receivers have speed. They like to outscore people. They have had some trouble on the defensive side - kind of like us. And them getting that first win helps going into the Eldon-Versailles week.
"Our running game will be critical to us, to keep them off the field with ball control."
Last week, Eldon played even with the explosive Boonville Pirates for a while. The game was scoreless after one quarter and the Mustangs trailed just 21-12 at halftime. However, Boonville erupted for two touchdowns in the third quarter and added three more in the fourth period to pull away.
Boonville's all-state running back, senior Avian Thomas, scored the final three Pirate touchdowns, one on a 75-yard kickoff return.
Senior fullback Kaden Dillon had a big game for Eldon, rushing for 140 yards and three touchdowns, while sophomore quarterback Dallas Hardy rushed for 80 yards and a TD.
Dillon leads the Mustang wing-T offense with 791 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, while Hardy has run for 617 yards on 97 carries and eight TDs and junior running back ydy Hill has 247 yards on 58 carries and two TDs.
Hardy has completed 13-of-43 passes for 196 yards, with junior wideout P.J. Bledsoe catching three passes for 59 yards and Dillon with four catches for 22 yards.
Dillon also leads the team in tackles.
"Dillon is their No. 1 guy, you can tell," Silvers said. "They don't have that breakaway speed on the edge like they had a couple years ago, and their game goes through Dallas Hardy and Dillon. And Bledsoe has been a recent threat for them who has got the height and length. Dillon is a great running back and Hardy is getting better every week. And their offensive line is starting to jell.
"Defensively, as a team that primarily runs a power running game on offense and see it every day in practice, they're going to be tough. We will have to make it a space game - try to find the seams. We've got to have great plays on first down."