Dexter looking to turn things around against Malden

Jerry Jarrell photo Members of the Bearcats football team gather around coach Aaron Pixley at the end of Wednesday's practice. The team will try to rally around each other and snap a four-game losing streak at home Friday against the Malden Green Wave.

A slow start as become the norm for Dexter in recent years, thanks in large part to an opening schedule that lines the Bearcats up against some pretty tough competition.

Opening with Ste. Genevieve, Gosnell, Ark.( or Fredericktown), Sikeston and Poplar Bluff, the Bearcats have struggled to 0-4, and 1-3 starts with regularity.

What will be a surprise is if the Bearcats don't turn things around starting this Friday at home against the Malden Green Wave. Kickoff for that game is set for 7 p. m. at Charles Bland Stadium.

What concerns many observers is not the fact that the Bearcats have lost four games to open the season, but it is the way they have lost. Dexter's best effort so far this season came in the opener against Ste. Genevieve in a 30-25 loss, but since that time the Bearcats have only managed 17 points against Gosnell (14 of those in the 4th quarter against the second team defense), while being shutout by Sikeston (50-0) and Poplar Bluff (47-0).

"First of all, we are playing very good teams that are better than they normally are and we are sort of in a transition period here," Dexter coach Aaron Pixley said after Wednesday's practice. "But at the same time you have to try and go out and execute what you want to do and we haven't done a very good job of that, and haven't done a good job of that on either side of the ball.

"I think playing those tough schools like that has got to do something for you," he continued. "So hopefully we'll come out and execute a lot better Friday night."

Dexter was 0-4 last season when they traveled to Malden to take on a winless Green Wave team and came away with the season's first victory, 41-7.

So does Dexter feel confident and ready to turn things around and make another mid-season push heading into conference and district play?

"You would think so, but we're really not going to know that for sure until Friday night and the ball is kicked off.," Pixley answered. "Malden (1-3) is a good team. I'll tell you what, they should be 3-1. They lost two games that we feel like they should have won. They lost 14-12 twice and they could have won both games very easily.

"So they could be riding high right here at 3-1 very easily," Pixley added. "So we've got to play well. They've got three good running backs and a quarterback (Travis Gregory) with some speed that throws the ball well and they really get after it across the defensive front. They really come off hard and pressure you. So we are going to have to play well on both sides of the ball to have a chance.

"They have a lot of young kids that are playing hard and they'll have a lot of this football team back next year, so they are setting themselves up to have a good run," Pixley continued. "So we have to play well, and we haven't been playing well, and they (Malden) have played well at times. So we're looking to be consistent, to execute and be physical. If we do those three things, then we have a chance."

Malden opened the season with a 50-14 win over a Scott City team that is struggling this season, then dropped the next three to Hayti (14-12), state-ranked Thayer (29-12) and last week to Portageville (14-12). Two fourth-quarter turnovers cost the Green Wave against Hayti.

"We need to," Pixley said when asked if his team was ready to turn things around. "We need to in a bad way. This football team doesn't practice bad. Last year I don't know if we had a good practice at all. This year we've had many good practices, so we just need to translate that to the football field on Friday night. If we can do that, then we'll have a chance to win some games. But if we don't start doing that, then it is going to be the same thing. So we've just got to turn it around, stay positive, and we've got to go out there and attack instead of playing not to lose."

Notes: Since 2002, Dexter has not lost to Malden and as not given up more than 12 points to the Green Wave while posting two shutouts during that span.