District play normally signifies the beginning of the real season in high school football, and it couldn't have come at a better time for MacArthur.
The Highlanders (1-2) have endured possibly the worst two-game stretch under under nine-year coach Brett Manning, losing to Lawton High and Amarillo Tascosa by a combined score of 115-41. Manning admitted the Highlanders have a lot to work on.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat it -- we've played some really tough opponents," Manning said. "I'm not disappointed in our record, necessarily, because going 1-2 against the people we played was definitely a possibility. We have not played really well that last couple of weeks, and of course, good teams make you look bad, too.
"We're working on ourselves, and I still feel good about our season. Once we get into district, we'll get back on track."
Tonight kicks off a two-week stretch that will likely produce the exact opposite results.
Conveniently, Mac will be faced with teams it appears superior to -- Western Heights and El Reno -- to open 5A-1 district play.
Considering it typically takes at least four district wins to place in the top four of a district, the Highlanders could be halfway to qualifying for the playoffs if they were to emerge victorious.
"Any time you're facing an opponent that you know is not as good as you are, I think it's a good time to get some of that confidence back," Manning said. "Last year, it was a time to take a breath because we played and beat some really good teams, but this year it's about getting our confidence back and fixing some of those mistakes.
"There's a thousand examples of how things can be turned around. Carl Albert started 1-5 in 2012 and ended up winning the state championship. Anything can happen -- we just need to worry about ourselves and get better."
Mac beat Western Heights last year, 57-7, but Manning said duplicating the blowout performance is the least of his worries.
"I'm not so much worried about what the score is," Manning said. "I want to be able to look at it, regardless of our opponent, and say we improved at our jobs and the point of emphasis we've been stressing this week."
Western Heights enters the contest having lost to 4A's Cache, 36-6, last week. Tonight's kickoff against the Jets (2-1) is set for 7 p.m. at Cameron Stadium.
"They're pretty simple on both sides of the ball...I think we'll be able to handle them," Manning said. "It'll be good for us to get our there and be able to have some success."
Greatest adversary
There is no question Mac has played some tough opponents during its 49 years as a program, including the 1990 mythical national champion (Eisenhower) and this year's Lawton High team, whose 50 points against the Highlanders was the most scored by any LHS team in the 45-year history of the rivalry.
It is impossible to compare teams from different eras, but teams from different eras, but Manning said he believes he knows the greatest opponent the Highlanders have battled, and he saw that team last week.
"Lawton High is an extremely talented team, but I don't know if we have ever played anybody as good as Tascosa in the history of MacArthur High School," Manning said. "Those guys were big and fast, and I was extremely impressed with them. Tascosa was on a whole other level than anybody we've ever played, in my opinion, in all three phases of the game."
Even if that is not the case, the Rebels could be arguably the best team Manning has seen in his time as a coach.
The 44-point loss to Tascosa is Manning's worst defeat as a coach, and the Rebels' 65 points is the most Mac has surrendered during his tenure.
The Hammer
For the second time this season, senior Rylan Webb will carry the coveted Hammer onto the field for the Highlanders.
Webb, who played his first game at inside linebacker last week, led the team with 13 tackles and returned a fumble 18 yards for a touchdown.
"I expect good things from him," Manning said. "He was so good at safety, and we use our safeties as big run-support guys, and playing at inside linebacker, he's a couple of yards further up toward the line of scrimmage, but a lot of the reads are the same. I feel like he can be a pretty good fit there."
Defending the run
MacArthur has struggled defending the run this season, giving up 284 rushing yards per game thus far. Tascosa had the most success, accumulating 401 yards on the ground last week.
Manning said he is not sure if the run defense has gotten better because of the caliber of teams the Highlanders have played, but he has caught glimpses of improvement, and he expects the defense to show up against Western Heights.
"Defensively, I'd like to see our whole team tackle better," Manning said. "That's something we've not been great at. Not to make excuses, but when you're trying to tackle RJ Fisher, Miles Davis and the whole host of Tascosa guys that they had running the ball, you need to tackle better.
"It may be kind of hard to tell, but there were times we did really good against Tascosa. That's a hard offense to defend. I think it's something we're going to have to really keep working on because 5A-1 is a very run-heavy district. That needs to be something we're really good at stopping or it's going to be a long season."
Injury report
The Highlanders are dealing with a couple of injuries in the receiving corp.
Weston Golson and Aeron Woodson remain out this week, and Manning said the receivers would be seeing playing time if they were healthy.
Golson has been battling back and hip issues for most of the season. The junior was hurt on one of the first plays during the McGuinness scrimmage on Aug. 17 and returned three weeks later against Lawton High only to leave the contest early with another injury.
Woodson suffered a partially-collapsed lung in a JV game against Eisenhower on Sept. 4., causing him to spend multiple days in the hospital. The sophomore is still recovering from the strange injury, and Manning said there is no timetable for his return.
"Hopefully we'll get them back and be able to spread the ball out to different people," Manning said.