SPRINGFIELD — There’s something about Springfield’s offensive control of football games that looks simultaneously dominant yet tenuous.

Springfield isn’t a team that breaks massive plays with any frequency. But what the Cougars do punishingly well is control the clock by assembling drives to suffocate opponents. And the foundation of that, as much as the rushing game and a tremendous offensive line, is the uncanny ability to convert on third and fourth downs.

Every time Springfield has needed a play in the District 1 Class 5A tournament, it has seemed to get it. In the last three District 1 games, the Cougars are 27-for-40 on third down and 7-for-7 on fourth down. That means that 85 percent of the time they get to third down (34 times), they get either a fresh set of downs or a touchdow

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