AMARILLO, Texas -- While many schools are wrapping up non-district play against in-state foes, MacArthur is leaving the comfort of Oklahoma to take on Amarillo Tascosa High at 7 p.m. Thursday at Dick Bivins Stadium.
The Highlanders (1-1) are familiar with the Rebels, having defeated the 6A power last season at Cameron Stadium, 27-24.
Although the distance between the two schools -- 214 miles -- brings novelty to the matchup, Mac coach Brett Manning didn't set out to schedule a two-game series with Tascosa (2-0).
"I tried really hard to get a game here in Oklahoma, but I just couldn't," Manning said. "It's tough finding a Week 3, and I think everybody, including me, is in the same situation because we really don't want to go play a powerhouse and turn around and start district the next week.
"I had my name out there in Texas as someone who was looking for a game, and when my phone rang, unless it was Katy or Allen, I was going to say yes."
Of course, Manning is no stranger to playing Texas teams. Including last year's win against the Rebels, Manning is 3-0 against schools from the Lone Star State -- having defeated Wichita Falls in 2010 and 2011 by a combined score of 92-31.
Manning said playing Tascosa will serve as an unintentional preview for what's to come from district opponents.
"I didn't realize it when I scheduled them, but Tascosa is a flexbone team, and it does us a lot of good to play them because Altus and Ardmore are both flexbone teams," Manning said. "It lets us see that, game plan for it, play against it and have a warmup game before we go into our big district games.
"They've got speed on the edges, and they do a good job of throwing the ball out of it, too."
Manning said the flexbone is one of the hardest offenses to defend, and teaching the formations to his defense has been more challenging than usual because of youth and inexperience.
Many of the starters will be facing the flexbone for the first time in a game setting.
"We had a lot of returning starters last year who had gone through the game plans and had gone through the games against these flexbone teams," Manning said. "We've got young guys, and the ones who aren't young -- with the exception of just a few of them -- are inexperienced.
"We're working hard at trying to get them in the right place and getting their eyes in the right place. Hopefully we'll see them on Thursday night being able to execute our game plan."
Mac is a predominant run team but Manning is focused on establishing the passing game this week.
Against Eisenhower and Lawton High, the Highlanders managed only 299 yards through the air, 200 of which came against the Eagles. JR Winningham is the leading passer, completing 24 of 33 throws for 294 yards and one TD.
The senior completed his first seven passes against the Wolverines last week, but went 5-of-10 the remainder of the game, throwing two interceptions along the way.
However, Manning said Winningham won't have trouble forgetting his past failures.
"JR is really mature," Manning said. "He's really good at getting over it, and you have to be as a quarterback. You're going to make mistakes, but part of being a mature athlete is being able to shake that off and not let it get you in a downward spiral where you get worse and worse.
"I was proud of the way he handled (last week), but I also expected him to handle it that way."
Tascosa enters the contest averaging 48.5 points per game, with its defense giving up only 16 points per game. The Rebels beat Plainview last week, 42-24.