It's over. We finished the Spring season with a hard fought victory over Treasure Coast 13-6. The Defense carried our butts all night long, and it was really nice to see. It was definitely a defensive battle all night long. Treasure Coast's defense was no joke either. They had some fantastic looking athletes as usual, and they really came after us. Our first offensive series was a real mess. We fought early season jitters and made a few mental mistakes which really cost us. However, we settled down and started moving the ball. I had noticed that Treasure Coast had our waggle play covered pretty well. They were jumping all over the Fullback coming out of the backfield, and this is the QB's number one receiver read; however, the Tight End was running free over the middle. Hakeem Rainey (our QB) tried to force a pass into double coverage and just about had it picked. He came to the sideline and I motioned him to come see me. I explained what I saw, and encouraged him to make his reads and look at the tight end the next time we ran the play. Sure enough, Bethel calls the waggle, the play-action was good, and Hakeem hit the tight-end over the middle (on a drag route) for a 60 yard TD romp. I was ecstatic and so proud of Hakeem. Score at half was 7-0.
The second half was a nasty defensive battle....it was great! The defense kept giving us great field position with interceptions and big plays. We finally put together a good drive and scored on a running play with Octavia Jefferson (OJ) We took a 13-0 lead going into the 4th quarter. Treasure Coast (TC) took the next series and score on a long 70 yard run and made the score 13-6. Uh-oh I thought, here we go again. They kicked off and pinned us back on the 10 yard line. Hakeem made a mental error and threw a PIC on a screen play. TC had the ball 1st and goal from about the 8 yard line. Our Defense came to the rescue and stopped them 4 straight times. THIS was huge. We went back on Offense and ground out a couple of first downs and ran out the clock. All things considered, we played well on both sides of the ball. Sure, we made a few mistakes, but all these things can be corrected. Like I stated on an earlier blog entry, we expected the defense to be ahead of the offensive for awhile. Our defense was awesome tonight.
Mason was not cleared to play tonight. I could not even bring myself to throw in a dig or two tonight. I felt bad for the boy, for I knew he wanted to play. It was HOT- HOT tonight, and we did have a few issues with cramping. I think Javonte King was running on empty. He was just not the same kid. I think he may be coming down with the flu, or he was just completely dehydrated. Everyone else came out of the game healthy, and for that, I am thankful. I think Hakeem played pretty well tonight. He made a couple of bad decisions, but that stuff happens to young QB's. I thought he became a good field general tonight. When he came off the field, I would usually just talk with him in a calm voice, and explain what I was looking at from the sideline. I encouraged him to stay calm and lead his team. I told Hakeem: "This is where great QB's are born!" For his first varsity start, I thought he did a great job.
Marty fed the whole team tonight and it was a huge, huge hit. Marty purchased 10 pounds of ground beef, 10 lbs of spaghetti, 6 gallons of tomatoes (and cooked it down for sauce) 12 loaves of french bread, and about 200 cake pops. The players and coaches ate well and seemed to enjoy the homemade cooking. There was no food left at all. It was great to see those kids eat a pre-game meal and enjoy it. Made this old coaches heart feel good. Afterall, I consider these my kids too.
I guess this is about it for awhile. I appreciate you guys reading my blog, and I really enjoyed writing it. I hope this blog gave you a different perspective on what happens with coaches behind the scenes. Coaches are sometimes unfairly judged on their wins and losses. We work exceptionally hard (on our staff) to put the best product on the field. I hear the criticism sometimes, but I have learned to let it roll off my shoulders. We are not just teaching Football, we are teaching our players "Lessons in Life." Afterall, high school football only lasts fours year; however, the players will spend the rest of their life remembering it. ....... I sure do.
See you in August when I continue this BLOG.
GZ
Missionl accomplished!!!! We had three main goals on defense. First, was to keep things simple and not give anything up by misalignment. 2. Play hard and fast to the ball. 3. Create at least 3 takeaways. Our guys did a great job. The effort was outstanding. We were not perfect in execution but the effort was graded at 100%!!! We are very proud of the work our kids put in Thursday night and the entire spring. We can coach technique and scheme but effort cannot be coached. Effort just comes from a kid wanting to do his job. This is a fun group to coach and I am looking forward to the summer and the regular season. I know the offense will be on point when we tee it up in August. Our offensive staff will make sure of that. And I I know the offensive players are hungry for the success that had last year.
ReplyDeleteCoach, thanks for the blog!!! It has been fun for me to read and respond. Mike, you are in my thoughts and prayers...God bless!!!