Head coach Aaron Dillard painted a pretty rosy picture of his defense by the way they played in a 13-0 opening game shutout victory over Alva’s Goldbugs last Friday at Conger Field.

Dillard’s defenders forced the Goldbugs into nine three and outs while only giving up 28 yards rushing, 34 yards passing and holding Alva to four first downs.

“We played really, really well on defense,” Dillard confirmed. “That was one of the better defensive performances I’ve seen in a long time. I’m really proud of them.”

Dragon defenders kept pressure on the Goldbugs all four quarters led by junior linebacker Christian Kirk with 13 tackles. Kash Guthmueller matched Kirk’s 13 tackle standard and added an interception.

“Every unit from the d line to the linebackers to the secondary played really well,” the coach said.

Junior defensive end Jonathan Minor drew rave reviews from the coach. Minor had two sacks.Dillard also praised the defensive line play of Brody Holder, Derek Cravens,Tavian Engert, and Landry Bacon.

“Landry played really well for us,” Dillard said.

Dillard pointed to the defensive secondary where Guthmueller, Taylor and move-in Oscar Wren all turned in top shelf performances.

“Wren is a young sophomore that transferred from Southmoore. He played both cornerback and safety for us the other night,” Dillard reported. “Someone else who played well for us was Noah Mason.”

Both of Purcell’s touchdowns came via the air off the arm of junior quarterback Guthmueller.

Avoiding an Alva blitz, Guthmueller stepped to his right in the first quarter and hit Devan Martin  over the middle for 24 yards and the first touchdown of the 2023 campaign. The point after touchdown failed.

In the second period, Guthmueller found Colt Taylor open with a pinpoint 21-yard strike. Martin’s point after was good and Purcell had its 13 point lead that held up thanks to the defense.

“I thought our receivers did a good job of getting open and making big plays,” Dillard said. “Devan averaged 12 yards a carry and Kash threw two really good balls.

“He put the ball exactly where it had to be to be successful,” the coach continued. “And I thought Derek Cravens had a good game in the offensive line. He graded out at 80 percent.”

Dragon notes:

Purcell Head Coach Aaron Dillard nominated Kash Guthmueller as the Offensive Player of the Week. Guthmueller was 2-6 passing for 45 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions against Alva.

Dillard nominated Derek Cravens as the Offensive Lineman of the Week. Cravens graded out at 80 percent against Alva.

Getting the nod as the Defensive Player of the Week was Christian Kirk who had 13 tackles and a quarterback sack in the victory over the Goldbugs.

Nominated as the Defensive Lineman of the Week was Jonathan Minor. He finished with six tackles and two sacks in the Alva win.

The Dragons do not play Friday with a bye week September 1. They will play at Pauls Valley September 8.