Bryson Cowboys look to tame May Tigers in opening round

Following a grueling schedule during the regular season, the last thing the Bryson Cowboys needed in the opening round of the playoffs was another stiff challenge. Unfortunately, this is what awaits them Thursday night as they will take on the May Tigers at 7:30 p.m. from Gordon High School. May enters the Bi-district round of the playoffs with a perfect 10-0 record and are currently ranked No. 10 in the state of Texas according to sixmanfootball.com along with being touted as the No. 5 ranked six man team in the division 1 bracket of the playoffs. To make matters worse, the experts aren’t giving the Cowboys much of a chance in this contest as May is favored by 45 points. Bryson meanwhile enters with an 8-2 overall record for the season, and is coming off a bye week after clinching a playoff spot on Oct. 28 with a 47-0 victory over Forestburg. Head coach Jason Briles admitted his team is in for a challenge against the Tigers, but also said the key to the game will come down to who can hold onto the ball better. “They (May) are going to be tough,” he said. “They are basically Newcastle all over again, in the sense they run the same offensive and defensive scheme. May has also got two great running backs and and athletes in all the right positions.” “We just need to take care of the football,”Briles added. “In our two losses this season we didn’t do a very good job of that or tackling in space. We expect May to score some points, but we expect to do the same. This game is mainly going to come down to turnovers and extra points.” For the rest of this story, subscribe to our print or online edition.