A healthy dose of Dasher and good defense was the winning formula when the Blacksburg Wildcats beat Southside Christian in week two of the season in a nonregion matchup.

The Wildcats need to find another winning formula today when the teams meet in Simpsonville in a huge region game with playoff implications.

The Wildcats (2-7, 1-2) need to

beat the Sabres and North Central to down Lewisville to qualify for the playoffs.

But secondyear

Blacksburg coach Mickey Moss said his focus is on today’s game, not the playoffs.

“We are just focused on this week,” he said.

Despite their record, Moss said the Sabres are a dangerous team.

“It’s a big challenge for us,” he said. “We moved the ball pretty well in the first game. It was probably one of our better games.”

In that game, junior running back Lennal Dasher rushed for 237 yards and two touchdowns behind a strong performance by the Blacksburg offensive line.

The Blacksburg held Southside Christian to 161 yards in total offense and set up the first touchdown with a fourth down stop at the 21-yard line. Linebacker Brent Bonner had an interception in the end zone late in the fourth quarter to end another scoring threat.

Blacksburg started their its scoring drive with great field position, taking over on downs at the 21- yard line following a defensive stop. The Wildcats scored two plays later on a 19-yard touchdown run by Hames.

After the defense forced a punt, the Blacksburg offensive line sealed off Southside Christian defenders to create gaping holes outside for Dasher to run through on a 66-yard scoring drive.

Dasher finished off the long drive with a 6-yard run to open the second quarter. He added a 3-yard touchdown and two point conversion run to send Blacksburg into halftime with a 21-0 lead.

Moss said both teams haven’t changed much since the first meeting.

“We are very similar,” he said. “They still have most of their players. They have lost a couple of close games.”

Moss said both programs are building with young players.

On offense, the Sabres will operate from the spread but will run the ball when they move to the power-I formation.

Defensively, the Sabres use multiple looks to confuse opposing defenses.

Moss said the key to the game will be for the Wildcats to play with purpose and focus.

“We just have to go out and play hard,” he said.

GAME AT A GLANCE

Kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at Southside

Christian.

Players to Watch: Blacksburg QB Treyvon Parker, RB Chase Hames, DL Alex Campbell, RB Lennal Dasher. Southside Christian QB Thaddeus Morgan, RB Chris Luke.

The Wildcats will win - if they limit their turnovers and sustain long drives to keep the Wolverine offense off the field.

The Sabres will win - If they move the bvall consistently on the Wildcats and finish off scoring drives.