Rivalry renewed: Wildcats face Pirates

Two teams on opposite ends of the District 6-3A race will battle for the coveted Russo Trophy when Kaplan plays Abbeville tonight.
Kaplan (6-2, 3-0) has one six games in a row, and is tied for first place in the district with Notre Dame.
This is Kaplan’s biggest rivalry game, but head coach Stephen Lotief said his team has their focus on strictly the game, and not the extracurricular things that take place.
“It hasn’t been talked about at all over here,” he said. “It’s a rivalry game, but the guys have been focused all week. We don’t really worry about the other stuff.”
In last week’s 30-14 victory over Erath, Kaplan rushed for over 300 yards for the sixth straight game.
Julius Johnson leads the area in rushing yards with 761 yards and eight total touchdowns.
During the win streak, Kaplan’s defense has allowed opponents to score 10.3 points per game.
Currently, the Pirates are ranked No.12 in the Class 3A rankings. Lotief admitted that he has kept an eye on the rankings.
“We have been looking at it a little bit,” he said “We have to start looking at possible playoff matchups, but after this Saturday, we will be paying closer attention to it.”
Abbeville (0-8, 0-3) has struggled to get their first win under head coach Chris Towery. The team is trying to recover from a 57-0 loss to Notre Dame last week.
With Kaplan coming to town, Towery talked about the Pirates and what his team needs to do to be victorious.
“They’re (Kaplan) well coached and old school,” he said. “They do what they do. They are going to come at you. We are going to have to be prepared to come out and execute.
“We have to handle their physicality. Offensively we have to execute. We have to execute to have a chance.”
In order for Kaplan to win, there are a few things the Pirates will need to do, according to Lotief.
“Our three keys are to control the line of scrimmage, have no penalties and no turnovers and everything should take care of itself,” he said.
Kickoff is 7 p.m.