I really want to thank the fans, and the students in particular, for the all of the energy and enthusiasm they brought to Jopson Field on Saturday. After watching the tape on Sunday I want you to know that our kids matched that with their effort on the field. Defensively, to hold an explosive offense like H-SD to only 250 yards and deny them big plays for 60 minutes was an outstanding performance. To hold five straight opponents to less than 100 yards rushing is an outstanding feat. This last week we added sound coverage to the equation. H-SD's longest plays from scrimmage had to be screens. The short drives of 40, 35, and 12 yards they got off of turnovers and the opening kick return were the difference makers. The gun snap which went over Hagan’s head at the start of the third quarter and showed that a football can take bad bounces was a back breaker. Sometimes the ball bounces funny when you try to pick it up, unfortunately.
Although a QB always gets both more credit and blame than he deserves, with the exception of the 3rd quarter interception where he tried to force a ball into Tyler, Hagan actually played well on one leg after a brutal below the knee roughing the passer shot he took in the first series of the game. (It was the type where in the NFL you would be reading about the player being fined today). Like always there was a ball he would have liked to have thrown again, but that is always the case. We were short-handed on offense due to injury in back-field and the line, but on tape we saw young linemen getting better and the energy that Darrin McKenzie plays with is fun to watch. The heat of the day really drained the kids by game’s end. I had asked them to leave everything on the field in terms of effort and by game’s end that was the case. Although our wide-receivers are followed closely when they catch and run, a coach is really glad to see how hard they play off of the ball when it is not about them. Follow Tyler, Keenan or Julius sometime on a running play.
Give H-SD credit, I believe they are a top 20 team who found a way to win. They have won 16 straight regular season games, have beaten 2 play-off teams in their non-conference schedule, but they have a lot of work ahead of them in ODAC. I told the kid’s on Sunday night they showed they could be a top 20 team too…IF
1. They attack every remaining game with a play-off mentality.
2. Have the discipline to attack personal and team weaknesses rather than ride strengths.
3. Run the table in the ODAC starting with Guilford regardless of their record.
Our margin for error is zero. Thanks for giving us a big-time atmosphere on Saturday. Sorry to disappoint with the bottom line, but give us another chance when we return to Jopson Field in two weeks.
Coach Clark
