The football team is approaching the end of regular season play. They are 1-3 in the region after winning against the Etowah Eagles with a score of 34-0. This was their first victory, advancing their overall record to 1-7 after a rough start with tough competition in out-of-region play to begin their season. There are two region games remaining to advance to post-season play.
“We started slow with a lot of inexperienced varsity players playing key roles,” Coach Lebron Mitchell said. “However, the region has started now, and inexperience is not an excuse.”
Coach Mitchell explained several players on the team are first year varsity members and aren’t used to playing at the speed of this level, leading to challenges on the field. The coaches try to work around these changes considering the impact it has on the team’s performance, but it is an obstacle because inexperience is said to be their biggest weakness.
Taking this into account, Coach Mitchell and the rest of the coaches have a game plan to get the team on track for the remaining region games.
“We have to practice harder and work on playing faster and more physically,” Coach Mitchell said.
Coaches are leading veteran players to step up and be an example for the first year varsity players to get everyone on the same page and prepared for the field.
“This could push the team to connect on the field from a performance standpoint, so they’re able to bring home more wins,” Coach Mitchell said. “Players are improving and understanding how to execute the game plans.”
After winning their first regional game against Etowah, the team plans to build on the successes in that game to capture more region success, while becoming stronger student-athletes.
“The game highlighted each player’s effort left on the field as they learned how to step up and execute their plays correctly,” Coach Mitchell said.
Coach Mitchell explains how the team plays very winnable games and how they have the potential to get through the rest of the season successfully.
The last region games are Oct. 25 vs Cherokee and Nov. 1 at North Paulding. With only five other teams in the region, the Blue Devils could even the region wins and losses.
