Week 6

Brian: The Coach A Show is brought to your way by the Barn Store, where they're all about creating quality spaces for your storage needs. Whether you need a barn, a storage unit, a garage, they've got you covered. It's a family owned and operated business. The Barn Store, proud supporters of Wolfpack Football. Hello, Wolfpack Nation. Welcome to the Coach A Show. I'm your host, Tom Carter, Voice of the Wolves, alongside Bill Alexander, best known in the football community as Coach A, head coach of the Liberty Creek Wolves. Coach, this past Friday hosted the Battle of the Creeks right here at the big house. Another huge crowd, standing room only, even with the the temperature at as it was. Not as bad as the past, but very close. To watch these exciting teams go at it. Widescreak arrived here undefeated, three and ⁓ record. They won, I think, fr over ⁓ Franklin Simpson, Trowsdale County, and then recently Greenbrier, which is our next opponent. ⁓ the PAX, three and one, ⁓ responded extremely well since that opening twenty-eight-21 heartbreaking overtime loss at East Robertson. Then we followed up with wins of forty-one Z blank over Portland and 70 zip over Sycamore, 34-13 over Gor Gord ⁓ Gordonsville, and now the 14-10 win over Whites Creek. And that's significant to me, coach, because the Bulls have demonstrated that we can win two different kinds of football games now. Right? W they've overwhelmed them off eventually, and they can play as we did at Portland, Sycamore, but they've also showed that Whites Creek. They can play four quarters a defensive football game when those points are really hard to come by. Yeah, you know, I think we're playing really well. That's two weeks in a row that we've hosted an undefeated state ranked team in here and come away a victor. And ⁓ you know, those are big steps for our program. And, you know, I think we continue to play really well in all three phases of the game. We were efficient on offense the other night. ⁓ walked away with some field goal attempts, some long ones that we didn't that we didn't get, but still were important steps and then defensively just ⁓ you know, they scored on their first two possessions and then we found a way to shut ⁓ out. So I I felt like we just really adjusted well on defense and kind of figured out some things that would work for us and ⁓ just really proud of the way we're playing football right now. Well those defensive games like we had here Friday night. It's kinda like watching two great pitchers go at it. You know, it's sort of like Maybe not the most exciting in some ways, but in some ways the ⁓ it it it's you're on the edge of your seat the whole game because y you know, with Barnes being the athlete he is, you never knew when he was gonna break free. Yeah, you know, he played awesome. I think he was ⁓ like twenty one of forty two for ⁓ a hundred and eighty something yards and then ⁓ had nineteen carries for a hundred and twenty five yards. So I think he had over three hundred yards of offense by himself. I think part of what you saw Friday night is is how we're winning in the kicking game. ⁓ they had ⁓ three hundred and something yards of offense and most of it by Barnes and and we had ⁓ right just under two hundred yards offense, but you know, we're able to come away with a 1410 victory because ⁓ of those those yards, you know, those kind of missing yards that happened in the kicking game. And we had a good kickoff return, we had a block punt, we did a great job punting the football. And so, you know, those things add up through the course of the game with field position to really make a difference for ⁓ for how the score turned out. Probably should tell everyone Barnes is quarterback. and they had an injured D one prospect receiver. Yes. Yes. They had a receiver that ⁓ tore his ACL in the Jamboree who's got several power four offers. While we were glad not to have to defend him, we're also sad for him, really for any athlete that has that habit, especially in a jamboree game. Yes, you know, ⁓ a big time athlete as he is. Coach, ⁓ this game was hard hitting. But it seemed like every time either side got something going, the old penalty showed up and we just we had some drive killers. Yeah, you know, I I felt like ⁓ you know, I th it was a pretty well officiated game. We had a couple of holding calls that ⁓ that probably brought some things back. But, you know, I felt like offensively we did pretty good. ⁓ we extended one of their late drives with a with a fifteen yard penalty that was ⁓ a late hit that that I thought was really kind of borderline. But ⁓ You know, I don't I I didn't feel like that we ⁓ hurt ourselves too bad with those things. Did what about the Cob what about the Cobers? Now, they went to Greenbrier, our next opponent, ⁓ last week and I think it was a six nothing victory. I mean, ⁓ we'll talk about a little bit more about that in in a bit. But did they come here with a little bit of a edge, a little bit of edge swagger to them? Like, hey, we we gotta play We gotta show our I think, you know, they really hadn't played much in the last two weeks. They they had a Mount Juliet Christian forfeit two weeks ago. And then, you know, the Greenbrier game, they had a long ⁓ lightning ⁓ storm delay just like we did, and they just didn't finish. So I think they only played like nineteen snaps of that game. They were still in the first quarter, ⁓ when they when they ⁓ when they decided to call that game. So ⁓ you know, part of part of what you see in that Greenbrier score is I think I think Whites Creek ran like three or four plays on offense and and Greenbrier had the ball twice and and that was it. ⁓ okay. More to the story, as they say. There was more to the story, yes. All right, coach if you had to point to a couple of things that y what would you say that there were those things? We had some interceptions. There w we had a fumble recover recovery, that never give up this team seems to have that never give up belief. Yeah. What what would you say was the that that turned this game? Well, I think I think the block punt obviously was was probably the biggest thing. You know, it was ten to seven and we'd gotten across midfield a couple of times and had missed a couple of field goals of opportunities to to tie the football game and then ⁓ you know when we were able to get that stop there and and and block the punt and give ourselves a short field and then Marseille scored two plays later. You know, we had a really good pass play that got us to like second one or second two and then Marseille had the about twenty yard run. ⁓ to score. I mean, obviously that was the big part of the game. And then, you know, we talked a lot. Our stack word this year's margins and we talk about winning in the little things, winning in the margins. And, you know, one of the things in both of their drives at the end of the game, the one we got to pick on and then the one where they just ran out of time. I felt like ⁓ as they were doing the two minute drill, our defense did us did such a phenomenal job of tackling those guys in bounds. And and and letting the clock run. You know, and a lot of people don't necessarily look at those things, but I think that was ⁓ you know, that limited the number of plays they got on that last drive, which was significant. I mean, they drove the ball all the way down inside the 10 yard line ⁓ when the clock expired. So ⁓ so limiting their number of snaps by tackling those guys in bounds was huge in this in in the f late in the fourth quarter. As you just said, the game came down to one play, basically. Yeah. Came down to Twenty you know, and we we all know coaches hate that phrase, right? No game comes down to one play, but ⁓ with what with twenty seconds left on the clock, and ⁓ that was a little bit of controversy in that as well. But ⁓ nonetheless, White Screet, no timeouts. I think they were at their seven yard line thereabouts, and the pack bowed up, held ⁓ out of pay dirt. ⁓ and they time expired before they could get that other snap in. Yeah. Yeah, you know, I think we did a good job. They had a pass play called and, you know, we we did a good job covering the pass plays and ⁓ the quarterback pulled it down and tried to run it and we tackled them and ⁓ you know the clock was was running obviously and they were out of timeouts and and it expired ⁓ before ⁓ before he got the next snap off. Well I wanna tell you, coach, and I'm sure you echo this, ⁓ we wanna s I can't tell you how much we wanna think of Wolfpack Nation Friday night. It was without a doubt the loudest, most enthusiastic crowd I've ever been a part of here and I've been a part of every game. So I here at the big house, I mean to tell you that press box it was swaying. I you know I felt like I was at Bryant Denny or Neal and you know that thing was moving around like a w ⁓ a flagpole in a hur in a hurricane. ⁓ you know, and I don't think a lot of folks understand you know, everybody hears about, you know, coaches playing crowd noise and especially in college and stuff. That really has a positive effect on your players. Yeah, it makes a difference. You know, it makes a difference in a couple of different ways. ⁓ obviously it, you know, when when the crowd's loud, I think it gets players excited. And I think, you know, they play to the crowd and and then it impacts ⁓ how well you can communicate. You know, on the days that we practice inside here, ⁓ when our when we're on in team periods, ⁓ we play the music in here as loud as we can get it. ⁓ because we want our guys to have to practice communicating ⁓ where they really can't hear very well. So ⁓ the crowds definitely make a difference. And ⁓ you know, I I talk all the time, as big as our place is and as far away as we feel from the bleachers sometimes it's hard ⁓ to hear the crowd. But certainly at the end of the fourth quarter Friday night you could hear our crowd and ⁓ it was a great atmosphere for football. Yeah, thanks, Will Puck Nation. It it means a lot. Now this Friday We're gonna leave the big house, travel to Greenbrier to tangle with the Bobcats. ⁓ this is a matchup where the numbers point strongly toward Liberty Creek. But f but you know, it's the Wolves first region game on the road, twenty twenty six makes it ⁓ makes it important. ⁓ it's a game that we should control, but it seems ⁓ We need to be effective in establishing ourselves on the road, avoid giving Greenbrier opportunities to hang around. Yeah, you know, we we said at the end of the game Friday night, ⁓ you know, we haven't played any region contest yet. Four of the next five games, ⁓ our region contest and and those four games are gonna determine the ⁓ seating for playoff berths and obviously seeding's super important as to who you play and whether you get to play at home or away. And so ⁓ this is a huge game. ⁓ Greenbrier ⁓ just had a big win against Portland this past Friday night. And you know, they do a lot of good stuff. ⁓ a lot of stuff that's hard to defend offensively. Their their offense is pretty unique and it's a little different from week to week, but it's ⁓ option-oriented offense and so there's a lot to prepare for there. And ⁓ their quarterback seems to have ⁓ found some mojo with some of the stuff that they did Friday night, and so we know we're gonna have to do a good job. ⁓ defending that and then you know on the road it's ⁓ sometimes hard to ⁓ to get your offense to go the way you want it to, whether it's ⁓ you know, some penalties or just being in a different place and and so, you know, we're gonna need to be efficient on offense ⁓ next Friday night. It it is ⁓ it is a game that we have talked to our kids about that, you know, hey, ⁓ one and four or not, this is this is the first game that really matters towards playoff seating. And We've got to be focused and and pay attention to the details and come out Friday night and try to take control of the football game. So is it an objective of the Wolves to score to score early and force Green Briar to kind of chase us? Yeah. I mean obviously that you know, that would be nice every week. And th they're they're a very run oriented offense and so ⁓ you know, I think if we could get up a couple of scores, ⁓ it kinda puts them in a bind and ⁓ and makes them maybe come out of their their normal game plan. But, you know, we just have to go out and you know, we We if we'll focus on us and and do the things that we need to do and win in all three phases of the game, I think that's ⁓ that's how we come away with a victory. Well, we st we started our conversation talking about the pack can overwhelm opponents offensively. We've proven that. They've also showed this wide screen game that we can play four quarters of defense and and come out and win. But it's that second point. that may be more and going more important going into this regional play. Yeah, you know, I think ⁓ you know, our defense has has played well all year and ⁓ you know, I I felt like we played pretty well in the we we really, if you you take the East Robertson game, I know they scored twenty eight points, but it was twenty one points in regulation. One of those was the short field and overtime. And then ⁓ you know, we pitched two shutouts. We held a a four and one Gordonsville team that's a ranked team in the state to thirteen points. ⁓ we held a Whites Creek game team that's super explosive to ten points Friday night. And ⁓ again, you know, their first drive, man, I think they drove down and scored in like seven plays and I was thinking, man, this might be a long night. And then they they come back the second drive and drive it right back down into the red zone and ⁓ we were able to bow up and and and force a field goal attempt. And after that, you know, we were able to to to get off the field every time and ⁓ that's that speaks a lot to How well our defense is playing and how well they can adjust to what the other team's doing to try to make a difference. Well, Greenbrier, the Bobcats sits immediately before Springfield on their schedule. The Springfield Yellow Jackets, if I'm not mistaken, is ranked two now or three. They're three. I think Alcoa, Pearl Cone, Springfield Yellow Jackets in the state. The pack will travel to Springfield for another region game on October 2nd. And it seems that that would create a natural trap if we're not careful, right? Don't play Springfield this Friday, bulls play Greenbrier. I'm sure that they hear that from Coach A. Yeah, I mean, we talked about it today. And, you know, I think not just, you know, we have to attack Greenbrier this week and our focus has to be on Green ⁓ Greenbrier, but but even if you look moving forward to Springfield, although we're not focused on Springfield right now, for us to get where we need to get, you know, and you said two of the top three ranked teams in four A are in our region. ⁓ I mean, our region at the top is is very difficult in Springfield and Pearl Cone. For us to be able to compete with Springfield, we can't cruise through this week ⁓ and and and think we're just gonna take care of Greenbrier. We have to focus on Greenbrier, prepare for Greenbrier like we always do, and do a good job against Greenbrier. And we also just need to get better this week. I mean, that's an important part of what we're doing. If we want to be where we want to be for Greenbrier next week or White House, you know, in three weeks, or or Pearl Cone at the end of the season, we have to continue to get better. ⁓ every week and and and that means ⁓ preparing doing a good job preparing for greenbrier this week. No doubt. And no doubt the wolves have earned the right to be confident. I mean they've earned that right but no one earns the right to overlook anybody. I mean every at that is the mantra of every coach that you'll ever run across with at any level. So Wolfpack Nation, it's the Wolves versus the Bobcats at Greenbrier High School. That's this Friday night. So please come out. The pack can always use your support just like we used it Friday night here at ⁓ in the Battle of the Creeks. The kickoff is at seven. We have special thanks to Brian Holloway and the production team of the Coach A's Show. We want to thank the fine folks at the barn store, proud sponsors of Wolfpack Football from day one. And to you, the Wolfpack Nation, for your support of our athletic programs here and the Coach A Show. We'll be back next week when we'll break down this game. With the Greenbrier Bobcats and speak to the Springfield Yellow Jackets coming up. From Coach A, the athletic staff here at Liberty Creek to all of Wolpeck Nation, we hope to see you Friday night in Greenbrier. Have a safe and winning week.