"Monday at practice I was smiling more than I have been lately but it was because for the first time this year I saw some progress from the team in our last game," Head Coach Mark Loudermilk said. "I feel like we are going in the right direction. We had a lot of kids play well last week and now they just need to give that same type effort week in and week out and I truly believe good things will start happening for us."
Loudermilk said he doesn’t have to question the Bulldogs' desire to win, as they are now clearly playing as hard as they can, it’s just now about making the proper changes to improve.
"We watched film Monday and then only got about an hour-and-a-half of practice in before it started lightning," Loudermilk said. "But practice went well. The kids are realizing now that they have to do their assignments and not worry about what someone else is doing and if they do that, good things can happen."
Another thing that may have helped change the Bulldogs for the better was the success they had in their new offense. After three weeks of running a spread, shotgun attack Cedartown went back to their double-wing, triple-option offense last week and immediately saw results.
The Bulldogs ran for 160 yards against Chattooga, their most rushing yards in a single game all season. Cedartown had entered last Friday’s game with only 20 plays of 10-yards or more on offense all season, but against the Indians Cedartown had eight plays that went for 10-yards or more, including a season-long 60-yard touchdown run. Loudermilk’s team also scored a season-high 21 points in their new offense.
"We still missed some assignments and made some mistakes but overall we moved the ball a lot better," Loudermilk said.
The Bulldogs' new offense, that looks a lot like the Georgia Tech offense, is led by senior quarterback Hayden Privett (63 rushes, 214 yards, two TDs; 32-of-66 passing, 329 yards, three TDs). Wingbacks Brooklyn Cotton and Dishon Glanton also play a big part in the offense as does senior fullback John Poulin (35 carries, 106 yards, TD).
However, unlike last season, Cedartown appears ready to throw the ball more out of this formation with sophomore Marquis Thomas (seven receptions, 127 yards, two TDs) becoming the go-to receiver and junior Devin Watkins (28.5 yards per catch) is beginning to offer big-play potential.
While Cedartown (1-3) may have a new offense, their opponent Friday night will not.
"Ridgeland still runs the wing-T," Loudermilk said. "They have three good backs, including a fullback that is a big bruiser."
Defensively the Panthers (2-1) have shown a couple of different looks this year.
"They play an eight-man front mostly, but have shown a 4-3 look with a Cover 2 behind it," Loudermilk said about a Ridgeland team that has two shutouts in three games.
Cedartown should enter the Region 6-AAA crossover game pretty healthy.
"Avery Privett is knicked up and he is a question mark right now and then Rudy Alford is having some blood work done to see exactly why he is having problems," Loudermilk said. "But other than that, we are about as healthy as a football team can expect to be entering the middle of the season."
Loudermilk said the Bulldogs know the importance of Friday’s game as it can play a tiebreaker role later down the road.
"We’ve got to go out and play with the same type of intensity that we played with last week," Loudermilk said. "Offensively, we need to put together long drives and score when we get the opportunity. Defensively, we just need to play hard and make sure we tackle."
Cedartown’s longest regular season road trip will get under way at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Panther Stadium.
Post a Comment