Law ride into playoffs against Wichita
Dodge City Law (8-4) at Wichita Wild (10-2)-Saturday, June 14-6:30 p.m. pregame; 7:05 kickoff on 98.1 FM; z98mobile.com and z-98 mobile app (Also available on Tunein Radio-keyword: KSKZ)
By Jarrett E. Brown
The Dodge City Law will face the defending CPIFL champions on Saturday when they travel to Wichita to play the Wild.
During the regular season the Law suffered losses of 40-7 and 47-38 to Wichita, but Law Head Coach Sean Ponder believes that his team has what it takes to finally overcome the Wild.
“Wichita is a good football team, but so are we,” Ponder said. “We have improved a lot since the beginning of the season and we are playing some of our best football right now. Our guys know this is a win-or-go-home situation and they definitely aren’t ready to go home yet.”
“All four teams left in the championship hunt are capable of winning the title,” Ponder added. “The winner of this game will be the team that takes advantage of the other team’s mistakes and goes out and makes big plays when they are needed most.”
Dodge City and Wichita were ranked similarly in most of the statistical categories during the regular season.
Most notably, the two teams were both strong defensively. The outcome of Saturday’s game will most likely depend upon which team is able to make stops on fourth down and force turnovers.
The Law’s defense will be challenged by CPIFL Offensive MVP Rocky Hinds, running back Tywon Hubbard, and a talented group of receivers.
“Wichita obviously have a pretty serious offense, but our defense is no joke,” Ponder said. “If you look at the stats you will see that our guys had a very respectable regular season. We’ve faced some pretty good offenses this year and we did well. On Saturday we need to come out and play up to our potential. If we do that, we will have a chance to win the game.”
Wichita’s defense will have the task of trying to contain Law quarterback Josh Floyd and CPIFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Dominique Carson.
Floyd threw for 1,374 yards and 22 touchdowns with 8 interceptions in only 9 games. He also rushed for 394 yards and 16 touchdowns in 90 attempts.
“Josh has a really good arm,” Ponder said. “He can get the ball down the field to our receivers, but he can also run when he needs to. Defenses have to be ready to guard against the pass and the run because he can do both.”
During his rookie campaign, Carson proved that he can compete with the best the CPIFL has to offer. Carson carried the ball 95 times for 371 yards and 14 touchdowns during the regular season. He added 750 yards and a touchdown on 37 kickoff returns.
“Dominique is a playmaker,” Ponder said. “He has really good vision and the ability to react quickly when he sees an opening in the defense. Any time he has the ball in his hands there is a chance that he could score.”
