By Joseph W. Gex, II
May 24, 2011, 17:53
The St. Stanislaus Rock-a-chaws have been an all-out spread team for the past decade on the football field. That philosophy will change slightly for the upcoming football season which begins in August.
On Friday, May 20th the Rocks displayed their newly adjusted approach to the gridiron under new mentor Gabe Fertitta who replaced Forrest Williams. Fertitta comes to SSC from Itawamba Community College where he spent last season as the offensive coordinator. Williams is heading north to Ridgeland to take over the Madison-Ridgeland Academy team.
The Rocks showed a concentrated effort on running the football in their spring game against Class 6A St. Martin last Friday night. Carrying the bulk of the load was Bennett Rimmer and Bo Brennan. They were spelled by Riley Baggett, Evan Lundgren and others throughout the controlled scrimmage.
Fertitta commented, “Tonight was a solid effort by the guys. As a coach, you like to see that after three weeks of practicing against yourself. To see the players in a competitive situation and how they react to it was very beneficial. They did a good job.”
The scrimmage was a controlled one where the first string offense had a certain number of plays from various locations on the field against the first string opposing defense for each team. Then, the second string and third string followed suit with the same controlled situations. Each team was also afforded field goal and extra point kicking opportunities in the scrimmage.
On offense, the Rocks scored eight times. Bo Brennan scored on a nifty 50-yard run. Nick Everhart caught two scoring tosses. Joe Guillot scored on a swing pass while Bennett Rimmer scored on a pass and a run. Alden St. Mary caught a scoring toss and Tyler Allen also scored. Everhart also returned a fumble 65 yards for a score on defense.
The Rock defense held St. Martin to just two scores in the game including just one on the first string defense.
The Rocks defensive approach remained consistent with guys flying around the ball and making plays orchestrated by longtime defensive coordinator Mark Logan. Fertitta continued, “On defense, we flew around the ball. Coach Mark Logan does an excellent job. His defense is intense and that intensity is fueled by their coach. Coach Logan is an intense coach and they feed off of him. I was very pleased to see them in action.”
It was a solid display of football on the field after the off season and adjusting to a new style of play. However, the scrimmage did not go without its concerns. Fertitta added, “On our first offensive series, we committed two turnovers. They came about as a result of not knowing what to do. We were able to get past those and move on. We can’t commit mistakes such as those. We have to get better all around. The very best thing that came out of the scrimmage tonight was we got it all on film. Now, we can begin to teach the system. When a player is able to see it on film, it makes a big difference.”
Fertitta added that now the summer season is here. He reminded his players that the summer is a time to get bigger, faster and stronger and more in tune with what their responsibilities are on and off the field. He concluded, “We want the guys to establish their mentality. We want them to be like a junkyard dog on the field. As the players get bigger, faster, stronger and establish the mentality a lot of confidence comes from that. We approached our spring practice as an opportunity to evaluate what we have and where we are. We were able to do that.”
With spring football behind all the teams in the area, the summer workouts begin in earnest with 7-on-7, weight training and film. The summer workouts will continue through late July or early August when the pre-season workouts begin in preparation for the regular season which starts later in August. For the football fanatics such as myself, we are only a short two and one-half months away from getting our fix. I can’t wait. Can you? See you at the game!
Source: http://www.seacoastecho.com/
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