The Red Mountain Lions hit a small bump in the road after losing their matchup to Perry 35-19, but they are hopeful to bounce back this Friday night in a 6A East Valley battle against Dobson High School at 7:00 p.m.

Head coach Mike Peterson isn’t taking the loss too hard, as he is confident in their game plan and even more confident in his players.

“We don’t see a sign of the apocalypse because we lost last week…we just need to play a more mistake-free game,” said Peterson.

The Dobson Mustangs (1-2) are looking to continue their success as they made off with a solid 48-6 win against Maryvale last week. But despite the Mustangs' success, the Mountain Lions are focused on positivity and getting back into the win column.

To fix their struggles before the upcoming matchup, the Mountain Lions (2-1) have gone back to the basics. “They run a lot of stuff like we do, which will be good for us because we want to focus on fundamentals…that should make it easier on both teams,” said Peterson. “Our focus this week is fundamentals, execution, and simplifying the scheme a little bit.”

However, when asked about this week’s game plan, Peterson didn’t seem to be as focused on the X’s and O’s, but more about heart and hustle.

“This week we are focusing on hustle and effort,” said Peterson. “We have to focus on being positive and taking care of business in our tight little football family.”

Red Mountain quarterback Darren Smith had a strong performance on Friday, passing for 220 yards and a  touchdown. However, he is not satisfied without a win.

“Our weakness coming in last week was that we thought we were going to bully them and we couldn’t really do that, so we just have to prepare better,” Smith said. “We have to work harder to beat the better teams if you want to be elite around here.”

Senior defensive back Shaq Daniels is also looking forward to getting back out there to help his team secure a victory. “I need to focus on staying ready and always try to prevent those big plays,” said Daniels. “Our defense is pretty settled, so as long as we get our offense rolling we should be good.”

Keeping the locker room’s morale high and working hard is exactly what is needed from this Red Mountain team as they try to gain a top spot in their conference and in their region.

 “I think a positive attitude, positive coaching and a positive atmosphere will create success,” Peterson said.