CLARKSVILLE (KFSM) - It’s early in the season, but there’s a mutual respect between Clarksville (2-0) and Ozark (1-0). In fact, each team already has a win over defending 3A state champion Booneville.
"Clarksville’s big too, they got a lot of big guys on the o-line and also they got the single wing offense," Hillbillies coach Jeremie Burns said. "So it’s gonna be tough to track down the ball."
After watching tape on Tuesday, senior Ethan Foster agreed with his head coach.
"Clarksville, they got a bunch of big guys that like to play football, and they’re very physical."
The Panthers stunned Booneville 41-35 in week zero before stomping Paris 63-0.
"Well the quarterback and those backs, they’re gonna give you a lot of misdirection," explained Burns. "The Buckner boys are really tough hard runners."
On the other hand, Ozark beat rival Booneville 28-6 with a stout defensive effort.
"[Ozark's] a good team, they have a lot of good linemen and a couple players that are looking to go play college ball," said Clarksville's Hayden Koch.
"Ozark is just a great football team," Panthers head coach Khris Buckner agreed. "You know they do a ton of things well, they’re coached well to start with. They have talent at every position, they’re talented. They’re a state title contender in 4A."
"It’s gonna be a tough game, it’s gonna be a hard fought battle by both teams," added Michael Powell, a senior lineman at Clarksville. "But it’s gonna be the team who executes most and who wants it more, in my opinion."
One matchup to watch out for is the Hillbilly defense trying to contain an explosive Panther offense that's averaging 52 points per game over the first two weeks.
"They have a very interesting offense in that they have three different quarterbacks basically that can come in," analyzed Ozark's Daniel Woolsey.
"We’ve yet to be out on fourth down, we’ve yet to punt," Clarksville's Garrett Waddill explained. "It helps our defense a lot so they don't have to make a massive play every drive."
Clarksville hosts Ozark on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.