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"Life is not tried, it's just merely survived when you're standing outside the fire."

I had said that the Garth Brook's song "Standing Outside the Fire" was on my mind last week. Well, we definitely found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a fire this past Friday night. First impressions were the fact that we did not appear to play very well defensively, but in terms of the concerns we had last week with the play of our defensive line, especially the ends, those kids played very well. A lot of uneducated fans would think that ends are responsible for contain, but in our scheme they are responsible for off-tackle and "squeezing" the inside run down. Our ends did a great job of that Friday. Our linebackers were responsible for QB to pitch which would appear to not have been done well. They were in position in a lot of situations and missed some open field tackles. I would say after having the advantage of watching the film the biggest thing that we need to improve on this week is our tackling. Offensively we had some critical turnovers. So, fundamentally we need to really work on ball security. Offensively, my two biggest concerns were answered and I must admit it was a very resounding answer. Our sophomore center after some early jitters did a great job. He will probably not play against a bigger, or stronger nose tackle all season. Galesburg's kid was a three year starter and went about 250 lbs. Our kid got his world rocked pretty good a couple of times but delivered every shotgun snap with accuracy and good zip that is so critical to the timing of our offense. The second concern would be the play and confidence of our QB. He far surpassed expectations. His first varsity TD pass was a great check off of the primary receiver to a kid who was not accounted for by the defense. It was a truly great read! I would say that this should help his confidence and hopefully carry him into our conference opener with a very good Morton team this week. The biggest thing that I am most pleased with about this win though is the way that our entire team competed. Not one man ever quit all night. We truly got every ounce of effort from all of our players and anybody that was called on gave it every bit. It was a great team win. Sure there were the typical opening game mistakes of silly procedure penalties, fumbles, communication breakdowns, etc., but because of the way the kids competed we pulled out a W. Even when Galesburg tied us late and even went ahead in the OT our kids had a business-like attitude on the sideline. That attitude helped to deliver a win! Personally, I was disappointed in myself in the way I handled the end of the half and the end of regulation. We should have gotten some type of points at the end of the first half. I probably should not have gone to throwing quite so soon down there with 2 TO's. Just got us in a little better FG position. The end of regulation we should have run the clock down to 3 seconds before attempting the FG at the end. Especially the way the Galesburg QB was running wild all night. Sure enough they ran an option with him trying to get him into the open field. Our kids came through and got us to OT. I am sure that a lot of "bleacher jockeys" were wondering why we called the TO before we attempted the game winning PAT. Number 1 we had two FG's blocked previously in the game, so we wanted to assure that we were squared away with our protection. Secondly, in the excitement of scoring the tying TD we had kids running all over the place. A kid who should have been in on the PAT team was standing right next to me. So, I knew that was not good. I truly was not concerned that calling the TO would "ice" our sophomore kicker. I feel the exact opposite with high school kids. Sometimes they need a second to compose and get their thoughts together. We protected well and our snapper, holder and kicker delivered. The icing thing is what people learn from watching ESPN and the NFL and at that level it might work. So, it's what you and your kids believe. This group I truly believe, more so than a lot of kids that we have had in the past, believes and we are off to a positive start. Tomorrow though the cycle starts anew with the start of our preparations for Morton.

Labor Day Weekend

There is nothing like a three day weekend at the start of our season. It is great with the start of the college football season. I was able to go and watch my son play baseball Saturday afternoon after reviewing films and "shaking" the kids out. I even got to cook on the grill Saturday night!
This afternoon though I have to do some film work and practice planning to get ready for the Potters. Side note; Trevor Lehnen, Morton's new coach was a wide receiver for us when I coached at MacMurray College back in the "80's. Man, am I getting old!!! This Morton game always makes me old. Every year this game comes down to the last tick of the clock. So, I am sure this will be no different than the Galesburg game. That's why I tell a lot of people, I honestly do not enjoy the games. They drive me up a wall!!! I love the challenge of preparation, but the games absolutely "kill" me! The coaches will meet tomorrow morning before 9:00am practice so that they can spend Sunday evening with their families. I think I will even take my wife to the movies and have a date Sunday night.
Another thing that I am looking forward to tomorrow is going up to our JFL field and having a pork chop for lunch and watching some of their annual Jamboree. It's always a big deal for the kids and I enjoy seeing all the kids and their coaches and parents. It sure is a lot more fun to see them when you are 1-0!