Both Zama and Kinnick hit the road this week for critical games involving divisional playoff positioning. Chris Jones and the Trojans visit Yokota in a battle of Division II unbeatens, while Derek Ulrich and the Red Devils travel to defending Division I champion Kadena. (Tiffany Mae Okamura/Special to Stripes)
URUMA, Okinawa – There’s a sense of urgency every time football teams step on the field this DODEA-Pacific season, coaches of various teams say as a crucial weekend of games looms on the schedule.
Zama on Friday visits Yokota for the Panthers’ homecoming and a chance to secure the top spot in the Division II standings. Nile C. Kinnick travels to Kadena, with the Red Devils hoping to open more of a gap between them and the defending Division I champion Panthers.
And on Saturday, American School In Japan heads to Kubasaki, the Mustangs in a must-win situation to stay alive in the D-I playoff chase. Meanwhile, the Dragons hope to make it three wins in three tries and keep hold of first place.
“Our mindset as a team is one game at a time,” Kinnick coach Dan Joley said. “There are many different scenarios that create the playoff picture. In a shortened period of time, you have to boil it down to who we play this week and what are we going to do.”
The Kinnick-Kadena matchup pits two versatile run-pass option packages, with Red Devils quarterback Arashi Blacton – and long kicker Koboyo Awesso – against the Panthers and running backs Hajime Reed, Flint Barton and Ethan Ferch.
Joley said the Kinnick coaching staff “loves playing Kadena. The camaraderie between coaches is fantastic, the atmosphere is great and we always look forward to playing against disciplined and well-coached teams.”
The D-I schedule shows five teams each playing five divisional regular-season games, while the D-II schedule has each team playing six. That’s followed by the semifinals in each division Oct. 18-19, then the championship games, D-II on Oct. 25 and D-I the next day.
“I’m a big believer that this game (Yokota) is going to set the 1-2-3 spots in D-II and maintain it going forward,” Trojans coach Scott Bolin said. “We look forward to how we match up with Yokota and see how it shakes out.”
Zama and Yokota are almost a matched set offensively. The Trojans and quarterback Adrian Santiago-Cruz and a receiver package featuring Geovanni Joel and others will face a Panthers outfit including quarterback Josh Low along with Kicoh Guenther, Jay Douglas and Julian Chuckery, among others.
“It’s always good to play them,” Bolin said of Yokota. “They’re always a quality opponent.”
Gaining one of the top two spots in the DODEA standings is always critical, Joley and Bolin said, because with it comes host rights in the semifinals.
“These next four weeks, everything counts,” Bolin said. “There’s not much room for error. I’d much rather host it (semifinal) than travel.”
In other games, Osan travels to Humphreys for a non-divisional contest at 6 p.m. Friday, while George Washington visits Guam High in another 6 p.m. Friday contest. Matthew C. Perry takes on Sotoku, a Japanese high school, in a Saturday afternoon contest. Kickoff is at 3 p.m.
