CALEDONIA — Dare to stop the Confederates.
Ricky Kendrick doesn”t hide the fact that his Caledonia High School football team is going to run the football. To Kendrick, it comes down to simple math: Get 3.3 yards per carry and hold on to the football and the Confederates will be able to dictate the tempo of the game.
A week ago, that formula proved to be pretty powerful, as Caledonia piled up 356 rushing yards in a 29-20 victory against Nettleton in the season opener for both teams.
“The kids have worked so hard in the offseason that (the victory) is a reward to them,” Kendrick said. “We needed to start off good for the morale and to keep the attitude, the work, and the effort going.”
Kendrick was ecstatic that his team didn”t commit a turnover and held up in the heat and in the humidity. He feels the Confederates will be in every game if they can control what they can control and limit their mistakes.
“We”d like to think it was preparation and hard work that got us there,” Kendrick said. “We made a lot of mistakes, we just didn”t make the ones that are evident to a lot of people. When we break down the film, we see we are a long way away from being where we want to be.”
Kendrick acknowledges his team has taken several steps forward since last season when it ended the program”s 25-game losing streak. He also knows he won”t be able to snap his fingers and make the Confederates a state championship contender. But he remains confident Caledonia will continue to build toward that goal if the players continue to believe and to deliver blue-collar efforts.
“Our goal was to change the nature, the attitude, and I think the word I used Friday was the atmosphere,” Kendrick said. “That is not just the players, but it also is the community, that”s the folks in the bleachers and the folks in the town. We”re slowly starting to see that, and winning certainly helps.”
West Lowndes coach Anthony King knows what to expect. He has watched a replay of the game. At 7:30 tonight, he will find out if his Panthers are up to the challenge of slowing down the Confederates.
King, a former head coach at East Oktibbeha County High School, spent last season as an assistant coach at Noxubee County High. He returned to his alma mater late in the summer to replace Bobby Berry, who retired after last season.
“They”re good at what they do,” King said. “Coach Kendrick is doing a good job. The players seem to comprehend their offense, so they”re moving the ball and playing good, fundamental ball. We have to play smart ball all of the way around.”
West Lowndes rewarded its new coach with a 40-28 victory against Montgomery County. While pleased with the fact his team put up 40 points, he didn”t like the performance of his defense, especially considering what his team will face this week.
“We have a lot of stuff to get cleaned up,” King said. “We missed a lot of assignments and just have to get more fundamentally sound on defense. The offense did pretty good. The line was a little high, but I like the effort I saw.”
King said West Lowndes earned the victory even though running back Antonio Wilson played only about half the game. Wilson still managed to have a monster game, rushing for 185 yards and scoring five touchdowns, including one on a kickoff return and another on a screen pass
“The game kind of seemed easy to him, like he wasn”t going as hard and he got a little stiff,” King said.
Caledonia also should have its hands full trying to stop quarterback Gerald Sanders. King said his goal is to get Sanders to run the ball more to keep the defense honest, which will allow the Panthers, who have won the past two meetings with the Confederates, to use even more of their weapons.
“I ran a little bit (against Montgomery County), but I didn”t run like I was supposed to,” Sanders said. “I didn”t read the ends, but this Friday I am going to make up for it. I am going to run more.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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