Mid-Buchanan Dragons on the hunt for revenge and a perfect season

By Calvin Silvers

As the high school football season reaches its ninth week, the regular season wraps up and the district tournament looms just around the corner. Before turning the page, Week 9 features one of the most anticipated matchups in the area, the Mid-Buchanan Dragons aim to preserve their perfect record against longtime rival East Buchanan.

Having fallen to East Buch in their last five meetings, including three in the state tournament, the Dragons are eager to kick off their revenge tour this Friday, heading into the contest with an undefeated record.

For Mid-Buch, the journey to reach a state championship starts on the practice field.

“It’s really fun and it all happens out here, I mean, we work hard every day,” senior Gabe Sprake said. “Everybody has fun and everybody’s so selfless, I mean, everybody’s for the team.”

A key factor in the Dragons’ success has been their formidable defense, which has allowed more than 20 points in just one game. In six of their eight contests, they have held opponents to under 10 points.

Although the Bulldogs average 28 points per game, Mid-Buchanan remains confident in their ability to counter any challenge thrown their way.

“We all rally to the ball, we pursue to the ball, all 11 hats to the ball, it’s what we’re taught,” senior Zander Brown said. “Just play hard, and one of our big things is we don’t let teams run.”

History has demonstrated that teams that achieve an undefeated season or capture the ultimate goal are often tight-knit groups, and the Dragons are no exception this year.

“It’s very important and I feel like we have an upper leg on a lot of teams,” Brown said. “We do a lot of stuff together outside of practice and I feel like we’re more of a family than a team.”

Returning to the task at hand, the Dragons are determined not to let their perfect season come to an end at the hands of their rival, but they also aim to avoid adding unnecessary pressure to the matchup.

In addition to maintaining their undefeated record, a conference title is at stake, but the team is well aware of the expectations for this contest.

“It’s easy to say it’s just another game, but I mean, everything’s on the line, conference titles are on the line for both of us, you got to treat it just like any other game, but at the same time, you know, it’s a big game,” head coach Aaron Fritz said. “We’re going to come out and try to play as hard as we can on Friday and everything else will take care of itself.

All of this will unfold on the road, as the contest takes place in Gower, Missouri. If you’ve ever experienced a Friday night in that town, you know the entire community turns out to support their team.

“I mean, it is a tough place to play, there are people right up along the field. It’s different than anywhere else,” Fritz said. “But man, we just got done playing on the road for about a month straight before this, so I’d like to think that our experience on the road hopefully will show up.”