JASPER — Jasper will face one of its biggest tests of the season Friday night when the Bulldogs travel to Silsbee for a district matchup against a Tigers offense built around a powerful rushing attack. For Jasper, the path to a road victory starts with its defense. The Bulldogs have repeatedly shown they can keep games within reach by winning at the line of scrimmage, creating turnovers and limiting explosive plays. That unit should give Jasper a chance against Silsbee, which has done much of its damage this season on the ground. Silsbee rushed for 296 yards and five touchdowns in its 49-30 victory over Stafford, with senior A. McKinney, junior Carter Howard and junior Haegyn Morris giving the Tigers several options in the backfield. Jasper’s defense will have to remain disciplined against that group. Silsbee has enough depth in the rushing attack to punish missed assignments, and allowing the Tigers to consistently reach the second level could make for a long night. The Bulldogs, however, have demonstrated the physicality needed to make Silsbee work for its yards. Jasper’s defense has been particularly effective at producing stops in critical situations and creating turnovers, giving the Bulldogs an opportunity to slow the game down and prevent Silsbee from turning the matchup into a shootout. The bigger question will be whether Jasper’s offense can provide enough support. Jasper cannot expect its defense to spend most of the night protecting a one-score game against a Silsbee offense capable of putting points on the board quickly. The Bulldogs will need sustained drives, better execution in scoring territory and enough offensive production to capitalize when the defense creates opportunities. That becomes even more important on the road. Silsbee will be playing in front of its home crowd during homecoming, giving Jasper one of the more difficult environments it will encounter during district play. Falling behind early could allow the Tigers to feed off that energy and lean even harder on their running game. Jasper’s defense is good enough to keep the Bulldogs in the fight. For Jasper to leave Silsbee with a win, though, the offense will have to do its part.