Rainy weather and wet grass can make football teams alter their practicing methods, and MacArthur had to do just that this week.
Lawton has experienced seemingly non-stop rain since Monday evening, which forced the Highlanders to relocate practices to the school gym.
Although the weather served as only a minor inconvenience overall, Mac coach Brett Manning said it did interfere with certain game plan materials.
"Monday was fine -- we had a full practice," Manning said. "It didn't start raining until later that evening. We were in the gym (Tuesday) and got a lot done -- it was a good practice. We had a full practice with the exception of our deep passing game."
The team made the crosstown drive to Cameron for practicing purposes on Wednesday, and Manning said he hoped the forecast would remain a light rain so Mac could get more things done with its allotted time.
"It's all about getting stuff done, and in the pouring rain, it's hard to get a whole lot done," Manning said.
Davis emerging as backfield option
Blowouts like Mac's 41-0 win over Western Heights last week provided many players some playing time they might not normally get, and Dashaun Davis made the most of his opportunity.
The sophomore was the Highlanders' second-leading rusher against the Jets, finishing with 75 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Davis has two runs of 20-plus yards along the way, making himself a viable candidate to be the No. 2 option in the backfield behind running back Nick Mahan.
It was Davis' first time running the ball this season.
"We've been kind of searching for that No. 2 back, but between injuries and youth, we haven't felt comfortable enough with anyone yet to put them in a meaningful situation," Manning said. "I think (Davis) is getting to that point where we are comfortable with him and think he can not only help (Mahan), but also a give us a little change of pace because he has a different running style from (Mahan).
"In the past, we've been pretty successful when we've had a couple of different types of runners, and hopefully he can give us that."
At the beginning of the season, sophomore quarterback Racer Felter carried most of the running load behind Mahan, rushing for 310 yards on 40 carries and seven touchdowns through three games.
However, with Felter winning the starting quarterback job entering district play, the Highlanders are looking to pass the running responsibilities on so he can hone his passing skills moving forward.
Felter completed only 7 of 13 passes for 81 yards through non-istrict play. Against Western Heights, however, he threw for 129 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-16 passing.
Running wise, Felter came into last week's contest averaging 13 carries for more than 100 yards per game, but he was limited to only five rushes for 29 yards against the Jets.
"We want him to get more comfortable throwing the ball," Manning said. "Before Tascosa, he hadn't thrown the ball a whole lot. Regardless of who the quarterback is, we want to throw the ball more and keep people honest and keep eight people out of the box.
"We were trying to throw the ball, and I feel comfortable about runninng it with him at any time as well. He's proven he's more than capable of doing that, so we'll continue to mix it up and try to be multiple."
Looking ahead
Whenever Mac has a Friday off, Manning and his coaching staff try to get a head start on future opponents by either traveling to a game or watching games via online streaming, and last week was no different.
The Highlanders dismantled Western Heights on Thursday night, giving the coaches a sneak peak of their next two opponents, El Reno and Del City, as well as other district foes Ardmore and Altus.
Manning said he was impressed with the tight game between Altus and Del City, but the team that caught his attention the most was El Reno.
Despite being one the least-talented teams in the district, the Indians gave the No. 4 Tigers a surprising fight, especially in the first half.
"El Reno is much-improved," Manning said. "They were beating Ardmore 13-3 at halftime. It's going to be more of a challenge than maybe we thought at the beginning of the season. They have a new coach, and they remind me a lot of how Altus was a few years ago.
"Ardmore outscored them 34-0 in the second half, but they're starting to come on and figure out what they're good at. It's definitely not a game we can take lightly."
Manning is a University of Oklahoma football fan, and after seeing the Sooners, who were heavily favored, struggle with the lowly Baylor Bears on Saturday, he said he knows there is a possibility El Reno could put together a similar performance if the Highlanders aren't ready to play. OU escaped Waco, Texas, with a 49-41 win.
"We play all of these rivalries, just like they do," Manning said. "OU and Baylor is probably really similar to the rivalries we have with all of our district opponents. El Reno is a team that would love to beat us, and that would make their season if they were ever able to knock off the traditional teams in our district."
The Hammer
Mac put together its best defensive outing of the year last week, allowing only 27 total yards.
With that considered, Manning said it was difficult deciding who would get coveted Hammer award, but he and the coaching staff went with senior Chandler Green.
"He's been really close," Manning said. "He had a couple of big hits and big tackles. The entire defense did a good job. I hate to brag too much because of who we were playing, but we'll definitely have a bigger test this week."