NoJo goes down 49-14 to lightning fast West Johnston
September 5th, 2008 Posted in High School Football, North Johnston Football
When I tell you that a 49-14 beat down by a larger cross county bully can produce positives, I know that you will find it hard to believe. Nevertheless, I can point to several valuable aspects of these three opening season losses that will pay dividends later in the conference battles to come.
1. Not a single team we have played to this point would be considered weak. In fact, each one is favored to be in the hunt for their conference championship. North Lenoir, Union and undoubtedly West Johnston are far superior teams to the any of the other squads North Johnston football will face in conference play outside of possibly Ayden-Grifton.
2. The defensive and offensive line play has improved with each outing. Don’t let last night lull you into believing we’re that bad against the long pass. We were up against an excellent QB with rockets playing the roll of wide outs. There is no doubt that we do have match up issues with real speed around the ends. However, there is a fix to this problem somewhere and I’m confident in our coaching staff to work it out.
3. Did you notice how many great kick returns we had last night? The blocking scheme worked very well. #36 Glenwood Watson, #5 Jacques Alston, and #6 Charles Pipkin all had consistent returns up to and beyond the 50 yard line.
4. Late in last night’s game, #10 Ivan Trevino was inserted as the QB. With the line having difficulties against the speed of the Wildcats he was able to produce positive yardage. Trevino ripped off a couple of solid bootlegs and when #5 Alston was placed in the backfield it left the defense guessing as to who was going to tote the ball. By the way, was it just me, or did Alston seem to do well getting a running start from behind the line?
As coach Nelson told his players following the game; “The good thing is that this one is over with. We’ve got to go on a heck of a winning streak right now!” With Hobbton being the next opponent , Nelson said the philosophy is very simple. “Hobbton at all cost!”
**Notes** Hobbton is a 1-A school and plays in the Super 6 conference. According to most polls, the Wildcats are picked dead last in their division even though two weeks ago they stomped a mud hole in Spring Creek 28-0. Just so you’ll know, Hobbton’s game with Rosewood was rescheduled to be played next Monday night. Thus, they will have to play two games within 5 days. That is an opportunity.
