By John Beck
Head football coach
I am really proud of our resiliency! The guys don’t point fingers, just focus on the next play. It is a great attitude to have and one that we preach to them.
Up front, our guys continue to be the foundation of the team on both sides of the ball.
Houston Van Roekel, Briar Simpson, Braxton Plants, and our right ends, Breck Simpson and Lars Taylor, have played well all year long, and we will need them again this Thursday.
Our backs did a nice job of running hard and getting just enough to move the sticks. Brady Boulton, Broox Stockman and Brett Plants continue to be a three-headed monster back there and complement each other well.
Our receivers did a nice job all against Bedford night long. David Rose, Carter Michalek and Lars all came up big! We will need them to come up big again on Thursday.
Brady did a nice job delivering the ball to them at the right time and all came up with some tough catches where they knew they were going to take some hits.
Defensively we were able to hold their rushing offense below their season average and made it hard to pass as well.
Up front we were able to get some pressure in the backfield but also get some stops at 1-2 yards which is key.
Our linebackers flowed to the ball well and made key tackles when we needed them. They were only able to complete 3 passes and we were right there on all three.
The main success was making them have to put together sustainable drives without mistakes. They scored a few times but we made them work for it and had opportunities to get the ball back in each drive.
Alex Becerril continues to be solid in our kicking game! As a freshman, to have the impact that he has had is phenomenal! I am very proud of him and what he has accomplished this year.
Lenox is a very well-coached team that at times is similar to Bedford. They like to be in tight formations and pound the rock on the ground.
They have a very complementary passing game that relies upon the play-action for big plays. We will need to be solid in our keys all night long.
Defensively they are also very well-coached. They tackle well, line up in the right spots and fly to the football. Thier linebackers are really good and read very well.
The battle up front will be big! We will have to take care of the football. We had 3 turnovers (one was a bad play call by me) and we cannot have that against a team like Lenox.
Tackling as a unit will be essential against the two bell cows they have in the backfield.
Lastly, we will need to continue to be resilient. We have been tested all year long and the boys have what it takes to overcome all the little moments in a game that don’t go our way.
I am excited to see the Braves take the field on Thursday night!