By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After falling in their first and only loss of the season last week the Salina Liberty will return home looking for a bounce-back against the top team in the standings as they prepare to host the Sioux City Bandits.
At 3-0, the Bandits are the only undefeated team left standing in the CIF after sound defeats of Topeka, Billings, and Rapid City.
The Liberty received some bittersweet news this week as it was announced that quarterback Tyrie Adams, the CIF’s reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, would be signing a CFL contract with the Ottowa Redblacks.
In Adams’ stead, newly-signed former Tabor quarterback Curry Parham will take the reigns of the Salina offense, looking to get to grips quickly against one of the best defenses in the league.
During two seasons as a Blue Jay, Parham, who was most recently seen coaching in California, appeared in 21 games for Tabor, including four starts. The dual-threat QB racked up 24 touchdowns split evenly on the ground and through the air.
As for the Sioux City offense, the Bandits maintain the rarely seen but well-executed run-first philosophy in the indoor game, with the backfield of Lorenzo Brown, Fred Bruno, and Drew Prohaska keeping opposing defenses off balance.
“Every time you play Sioux City you have to know that they’re going to put the ball on the ground,” Coach Jorge Martinez said. “They make very few mistakes and they don’t put themselves in bad positions so you have to play a mistake-free game to get an advantage on them.”
In their quest to stop the run, the Salina defense must remain vigilant and committed to playing mistake-free football against a methodical offense that punishes every mistake.
“Defensive patience will be the key for our guys,” Martinez said. “We have to make sure that we wrap up when we tackle and that we contain their QB on the ground. If we play a sound football game we can gain the advantage, that’s always been the key against Sioux City.”
With a run-heavy Sioux City offense and a season debut at QB for Salina, the battle in the trenches will be more important than ever, especially as the Liberty try to handle the always dangerous Ben Pister.
“They’re very good upfront and Pister has annually been one of the best players in this league so the matchup up front on both sides will be one of the biggest things to watch for in this game,” he said.
Kickoff between the Liberty and Bandits is scheduled for 6:35 at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center and tickets can be purchased by following the link HERE.
As always, the game can be heard on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM) courtesy of Eagle Radio.