Michael Bradley hopes his team has a short memory.
Coming off one of the worst losses in his seven years as a head coach at New Hope High School, Bradley and the Trojans will return to action at 7:30 tonight to play host to Columbus High.
New Hope (1-1) lost to Noxubee County 60-14 last week. The 60 points were the most allowed by a Bradley-coached New Hope team since a 63-38 loss to Kosciusko on Sept. 29, 2006, Bradley’s first year as coach. The Trojans went 1-9 that season.
Since then, Bradley has helped build New Hope into a perennial playoff contender. The Trojans, who slipped to 4-7 last season in Class 5A, hope tonight’s matchup against their Lowndes County rival helps get them back on track.
“We tried to fix some things that we screwed up bad against Noxubee County, and Noxubee County had a lot to do with that,” Bradley said. “They are a very good team, and a well-disciplined team, and they exposed a lot of our flaws. We tried to correct some of those things this week.”
Bradley accepted the blame for his team’s performance, saying he didn’t see the necessary enthusiasm, fight, and intensity his players need for 48 minutes. He also said the Trojans have to play more physically if they are going to have success this season. He hopes a return to that brand of football begins tonight.
“We were not very physical at all last week and let them hit us in the mouth,” Bradley said. “We stressed we need to be more physical in practice. Football is a contact sport, and to be successful you have to make contact with people at some point.”
Bradley said New Hope did that by getting back to the basics this week in practice. He said the Trojans committed a lot of mental errors and made poor decisions. Noxubee County capitalized and returned three interceptions for touchdowns, and had six interceptions on the evening.
Bradley knew entering the game his team was going to face a challenge. Last week, he said this season’s Noxubee County team was better than the 2008 squad that won the Class 4A state title. The Tigers didn’t disappoint, riding senior running back Darrell Robinson to a 210-yard rushing performance.
As good as Noxubee County was, Bradley sees plenty of room for improvement with his team.
“If nothing else, we have to fight from the first whistle to the last whistle,” Bradley said. “Football is a 48-minute game. … (Our effort) was very unexpected. The bottom line is it is my fault an I have to get my team ready to play. I have to know the pulse of my team and its shortcomings and its strengths. I didn’t do a very good job. Hopefully, we will get some of these things corrected and play from the first whistle to the last whistle. That is all anybody can ask of a player is to give everything you’ve got. Hopefully, that is what we will do (tonight).”
Columbus coach Tony Stanford’s team is coming off a 26-19 loss to West Point. After quarterback Trace Lee threw the ball 32 time last week, Stanford said tonight’s game could be a long one, considering New Hope threw the ball more than 60 times last week.
If that happens, Stanford hopes his defense is up to the challenge. He said Thursday his defense will be without several starters in the secondary and at linebacker.
Fortunately, Stanford said the play of his offensive line is picking up. Led by Mississippi State University verbal commitment Jake Thomas, the Falcons’ offensive line showed signs last week of jelling. Stanford said he thought that process would take time, especially since the line has four new starters this season.
“We feel by the time we get to region play we will be playing pretty good on the line,” Stanford said. “They are starting to get down and they are driving their feet a lot better.”
Without the experience and speed of 1,000-yard running back Damian Baker, Stanford said his offensive linemen also are having to hold their blocks just a little longer. He said assignments are still being missed, but that he sees the improvement in practice and feels it will translate to the games.
That translation will be key with junior quarterback Trace Lee. Stanford said Columbus has been working on a lot of three-step drops to help lee get the ball out faster. He said continued improvement from the offensive line will allow Lee to become even more comfortable in the pocket and will enable the coaches to add a few more wrinkles to the offense.
“If they can protect him I think he is going to have a tremendous season,” Stanford said. “His completion percentage wasn’t as high last week, but he was under pressure and did a tremendous job.
“He has completed some nice passes and has done some things we didn’t realize he could do this early in the ballgame. His accuracy is unreal. He had seven or eight drops that should have been caught, and his arm is a lot stronger than it was. He also looks quicker on the football field than he was.”
Columbus has won the past two meetings in the series, and five of the last six dating back to 2005, when the rivalry was renewed. The teams didn’t play in 2009. New Hope won 16-7 in 2008.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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