Published: September 24, 2008 09:34 pm      

Wolves hope to remain unbeaten

According to Santa Fe head football coach Dan Cocannouer, the No. 6-ranked Wolves’ need little motivation heading into tonight’s district opener with No. 10 Mustang at Wantland Stadium.

After all, Mustang has a two-game win streak in the series, and it was the Broncos that kept Santa Fe out of the playoffs last season. It’s easy to say the Wolves’ have a bit of a chip on their shoulder.

“They kept us from getting into the playoffs last season,” Cocannouer said. “And if we needed anything else, it’s the first district game. You can lose your first district game and get into the playoffs, but it’s a whole lot easier if you win the first one and have everyone looking up at you.”

Santa Fe’s biggest objective will be putting pressure on Mustang quarterback Kyle Webster. The senior has thrown for 726 yards and six scores, while also rushing for 201 yards and three touchdowns. The Bronchos are currently scoring 38 points per game.

The Wolves will try to force Webster into making quick decisions.

“You don’t want to give him time to sit there, or he’ll pick you apart. Of course he can hurt you with his feet, too,” Cocannouer said.

Getting pressure to the quarterback hasn’t been a problem for the Wolves this season. Trevor Pletcher leads Santa Fe with three sacks to go along with five tackles for loss. Daeshon Bufford, Jonathan Allen and Tyler Souther, each have a sack apiece.

Meanwhile, Steven Sumpter and Willie Okwuonu, each have three interceptions.

Okwuonu, a safety, only has nine tackles on the year, which is a sign of a great defense.

“It’s not good when your safety has a lot of tackles. That happens a lot, when you see the defensive backs are making a lot of tackles. They’re (opposing teams running backs) just not getting through there,” Cocannouer said.

Mustang has a pair of talented running backs in Ben Green and Hunter Smith. While neither have eye-popping statistics, both average over five yards a carry.

Santa Fe has had similar success on offense. Quarterback Michael Hodges has completed 31-of-57 passes on the year for 642 yards and seven touchdowns, with Alex Hill emerging as a go-to threat with eight receptions for 251 yards and four scores. Jordan Mitchell, Kevin Nowlin and Jordan Lopez, are all big threats that can make things happen.

“Last year we had Matt Jackson, who was a true receiver, he’s at UCO now. But the guys that were behind him have really stepped up for us. Alex Hill, Jordan Mitchell, those guys, Kevin Nowlin, Jordan Lopez, they are all good targets. And when you have Hodges delivering the ball like he has, it makes the guys work harder, because they know he can get it to them. Everyone believes in him right now,” Cocannouer said.

Randy Ponder is the Wolves’ leading rusher with 309 yards and two touchdowns, while Sumpter is averaging close to nine yards a carry with 175 yards and four touchdowns.

The Wolves have averaged 37.63 points per contest through three games. And Cocannouer believes there is room to improve.

“Offensively we can get better, I just don’t think we’re where we can be. Of course, I’m picky, and the guys will tell you that. But we can play better offensively. If we ever get to the level that I think we can be at, I would not want to play us,” Cocannouer said.

The game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m.