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Improve in Loss Wildcats fall to New Brockton "It was a good loss." I'm not sure the phrase will ever truly make sense to athletes and sports fans, but one can continue to here the phrase for generations to come. Although not stated by new head coach and athletic director, Chris Buckler, the phrase could have summed up the Wildcats performance in the Alabama High School Athletic Associations' kickoff jamboree week as Florala falls to New Brockton, 28-8. Last Friday's contest proved to Wildcat fans Florala is on the right path as the team came out energetic and played well for a team with only 3 seniors and 15 players from 7th grade to 9th grade. "We played well as team," said Buckler. "We were in the right positions to make plays and our quarterbacks made some good decisions. Now we just need to improve our execution." Buckler's concern after the preseason contest was the inability to shutdown New Brockton's third down attempts. "They scored a couple times on 3rd down possessions - that's 12 points we could have taken away." One third down play was a 50-yard run by the Gamecocks quarterback who dropped back for a pass and scrambled the distance on a 3rd and 7. "We'll get better week over week. We're still young and fundamentally learning techniques that will not occur overnight." Florala lost several turnovers, but the defense also created some turnovers that resulted in a net / net for the Wildcats. Buckler was excited about the defensive play, but wants to focus on the line play. "Matthew Gibbs played well up front, as did Robert Morris - and those are two players we'll have for two and three more years." Austin McNeill as grown at the QB position and made several key passes to Zac Fleming out of the backfield and Jonathon Burleson. Florala trailed at halftime 21-0, but two third down plays lead to New Brockton scores that could have kept the game at 7-0, or 10-0 at half. The Wildcats held the Gamecocks at the 1 yard line for two plays and had New Brockton stopped in the backfield on third down, but failed to execute. Those two scores could have created additional excitement after Zac Fleming's 20-yard run to open up the second half putting Florala on the board with 10:55 left to play in the third. The second half was mainly a defensive battle as New Brockton managed only one additional score to end out the scoreboard movement during the night, but a 14-8 or an 8-7 game is not unthinkable for Wildcat fans. "We had some players solidify themselves and their positions," stated Buckler after the game. "We found out who can play and who also needs a little more time developing." The coaching staff also made some adjustments as fans missed Brad Garner on the sideline. The long time assistant football and head basketball coach was in the coaches box helping Buckler from above. "Coach Garner did a great job seeing things from the box that we may miss at field level - and he has a lot of experience in the game." Florala players have learned things are different under Coach Buckler than past coaches. "He really demands a lot and expects us to improve ourselves," said an underclassman. Buckler kept the team following Friday's jamboree to watch game film. "If we are going to get better, we have got to understand what we did individually that was a positive and learn to repeat those things. It doesn't just happen, you've got to work and improve to get better." Buckler was extremely excited about the fan support as well. "I really want to thank the fans who showed up and who have been so supportive during the off season. Last Friday's attendance produced the highest gate revenues Florala has had in a long time." In all the Wildcats improved over last season's preseason contest against New Brockton by a positive +15. The players gained confidence and understand that with a few improvements here and there will help the team realize their goals of establishing a championship caliber program. There were a lot of lessons learned and places to improve - it was a good loss.. |
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