Kris Pickle admits young teams have the most trouble figuring out how to put things behind them and keep playing.
If you’re a member of the New Hope High School football team, multiply that sentiment three times and you get a sense of how the players felt after losing to Louisville, Aberdeen, and Columbus to open the season.
But Pickle’s message didn’t waver. The second-year New Hope High coach continued to encourage his players and reminded them that teams don’t win trophies for going undefeated in non-region games or aren’t eliminated from playoff consideration if they go winless in their non-district games.
New Hope showed Friday it has been listening to Pickle by overcoming another game with its share of highs and lows to defeat Caledonia 27-24. The victory helped New Hope (1-3) get on track and gave it some momentum as it prepares for its Class 5A, Region 1 opener at 7 p.m. Friday at Clarksdale (3-2).
“We had a little adversity and we fought through it,” Pickle said. “We lost the lead and we were able to take it back and get close (to scoring) again and we found a way to win. That is what I was proud of. Every game we have been in the game in the second half we haven’t been able to find a way to win the game. It was the same thing with this one. We had a big punt block before halftime, and even had a shot to go up at halftime, but we had a guy wide open and had an errant throw.”
New Hope weathered the storm against Caledonia (3-1) thanks to a ground game that rushed for yards and a special teams performance that included a blocked punt for a touchdown. Pickle said the Trojans didn’t play a perfect game and still have a lot of things to clean up, but he said there is a positive vibe surrounding the team as it prepares for kick off region play.
“I’d like to think (the difference) was we are growing up a little bit, maturing a little bit as a team,” Pickle said. “Hopefully, they’re realizing how close they are.”
Pickle credited senior running back C.J. Clay (two touchdowns) and sophomore running back Tyran Reed for leading the rushing attack. He said junior quarterback Thomas Stevens (rushing touchdown) also showed signs of improvement. He acknowledged the Trojans have to do a better job capitalizing on chances to make big plays and that they have to play smarter and avoid penalties and plays that put the team behind the chains.
“I think we battled through some of those peaks and valleys better than we have in the past,” Pickle said.
New Hope’s ability to run the football played a role in navigating those ups and downs. Pickle said the Trojans entered the game with the idea they were going to try to establish the running attack. He said the move paid off even though the Trojans didn’t rush for a huge number of yards (94 with three touchdowns). He said the Trojans shuffled personnel on their offensive line and were able to do a lot of things in the running game that pleased him.
On defense, Pickle said New Hope didn’t have its best performance. He credited Caledonia for its ability to block up front and move the football.
“They were able to run the ball a little more effectively than we thought they were going to be able to,” Pickle said. “We thought going into the game we were going to make them one-dimensional and we were going to take the run away and make them throw it and use some of our athletic ability on the edge and be able to cover them in the passing game.”
Caledonia junior quarterback Spencer Unruh was 15 of 44 for 204 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a 34-yard touchdown. Zion Ford led the Confederates with 48 rushing yards and seven catches for 124 yards.
Pickle said Caledonia had success throwing the ball, but he said his team capitalized on the fact that the Confederates were trailing and they could send pressure to disrupt Unruh’s rhythm. He credited defensive coordinator Josh Polphus for dialing up blitzes that affected Caledonia’s passing game.
Now that the first victory is out of the way, Pickle and the Trojans will set their sights on Clarksdale, which is coming off a 7-3 loss to Class 4A Rosa Fort. In Class 5A, Region 1, West Point (3-1) is the only team with one loss and Saltillo (0-5) is the only winless team, so Pickle expects the next seven weeks to be competitive. With so much parity in the region, Pickle believes the first step Friday will be crucial to setting the tone for the rest of the slate.
“They’re a lot like Aberdeen,” said Pickle, whose team lost to the Class 3A Bulldogs 32-27 in the second week of the season. “They’re maybe a little bit bigger than Aberdeen. They don’t have the dynamic player like (Aberdeen senior wide receiver Jerrick) Orr, but there are a lot of similarities. They are probably a little bigger and a hair more physical than Aberdeen, but it will be a challenge. It is a tough place to play, but I’d rather play on the road. When you play on the road, you get to take some of the hoopla out and you focus on the business at hand, and that is football.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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