WOODLAWN - The Woodlawn Bears will make their first South Conference road game of the year Friday when they travel to Dermott to take on what should be some well-rested Rams. The junior high teams play 5 p.m. followed by the varsity teams at 7 p.m.
After dropping two straight, Woodlawn got back on the winning track last week with a 52-14 win over the Friendship Aspire Jaugars, improving its overall record to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in conference.
After the Bears opened the year with a 66-62 win over South Side-Bee Branch, they lost their next two against Rose Bud (54-30) and Izard County (60-8).
A common theme in both of those losses were turnovers and penalties, and it seemed that theme was carrying over into the Friendship game as well when the Jaguars picked off a Woodlawn pass on the first play of the game. Friendship returned it inside the Bears’ 10 and the winless Jags eventually scored to take an early 6-0 lead.
But as the game wore on, Woodlawn Coach Doug Means said he felt his team was starting to play better. The Bears dominated the second half as they played the final two quarters without a turnover and had just one penalty in their 52-14 win.
Last week was also the first game this season for Ethan Saeler. Last year’s All-State quarterback was recently released by his doctor to play after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his arm during the summer.
Saeler finished with 57 yards rushing and two touchdowns against Friendship while being in on a team-high nine tackles on defense.
Means said the addition of Saeler gives the offense an added dimension that opposing defenses will have to deal with going forward.
Previously, he said opponents could simply focus on stopping Griffin Manes. Now, he said they will have to focus on both Manes and Saeler, which frees up quarterback Parker Arnold who Means describes as a solid runner and a capable passer.
There were some glimpses last Friday night of what the offense can look like with Saeler figured into the…