Little Cypress-Mauriceville battled the weather and Vidor last week. Thunderstorms delayed the start of the game for 45 minutes and the Pirates defeated the Bears 44-7.
LC-M Head Coach Randy Crouch evaluated the Bears performance in the game. He thought they played extremely hard as a team and made some improvement in areas even if it did not reflect on the final score. Crouch added, “We’ve got to stay together and continue to play hard, continue not to surrender and compete and I think some good things will happen.”
It is back on the road this week as Little Cypress-Mauriceville (0-4) plays Hardin-Jefferson (1-3). Crouch pointed out the Bears will face a similar offense from the Hawks that they saw against Vidor. The Hawks run an almost carbon copy of Vidor’s Slot-T.
The Hawks’ Head Coach Dwayne DuBois was the offensive coordinator at Vidor before his first stint at Hardin-Jefferson. He later coached at Bridge City before his return this season to Hardin-Jefferson.
The quarterback is a key in running the Slot-T. The Hawks use Collin Pomirko at quarterback and he has some solid skill position players with running backs Izaak Whitman and Dillon Bryant. At wide receiver is Justin Smith when the Hawks decide to throw the ball.
First downs will be a key for the Bears’ defense against the run-oriented Hawks’ offense. They need to force Hardin-Jefferson into many second-and-long situations. “That’s one thing we have to do there,” Crouch emphasized.
On defense the Hawks are very aggressive especially in the front line according to Coach Crouch. Hardin-Jefferson usually lines up in an even front and also runs some odd man front. The Hawks will attack the ball.
Crouch is concerned about the Hawks getting penetration and disrupting the Bears on offense. Crouch stated, “It’s going to be a challenge to find some ways to counter that pressure and keep them off balance.”
Leaders on defense are Kolin McCullough in the defensive line. Bryant is a starter on defense as well at a linebacker. Whitman and Smith are key starters in Hardin-Jefferson’s secondary.
It has been a very tough early non-district schedule for the Bears against four quality opponents. LC-M will still be without its starting quarterback Ethan McCollum against the Hawks.
Crouch evaluated the Bears chances to gain their first win of the season against Hardin-Jefferson. The coach sees the two teams as being similar and closer to each other in the level of talent than previous opponents.
Offensively LC-M needs to get its assignments down for blocking better and find a way to score points. The Bears have been outscored 174-21. On defense the Bears need to wrap up and tackle better. “Make the fewer mistakes, kick the ball well, take advantage of opportunities when we get them, and hopefully we can do a better job of that this week,” Crouch concluded.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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