Burr Oak football fans have enjoyed a 2-0 start to the 2013 season, and the Bobcats look to keep riding the wave tonight at Litchfield, which has been outscored by a combined 109-13 the last two weeks against Waldron and Battle Creek St. Philip.
Culture Shift
“Now that we have won two games in a row and started the season on a strong note, the Burr Oak Football team is developing a strong sense of pride and confidence that has not been seen in Burr Oak for many years,” head coach Ryan Stephens said. “Beating Waldron last Friday night especially helped this. Leadership is also starting to manifest among a few players. At the start of the season, lack of leadership was going to be our biggest obstacle to overcome.”
The Bobcats are far from complacent, however. Stephens is aware of a multitude of areas in which his squad needs to show marked improvement.
“We lack consistency on offense, but have the athletes to improvise and make something out of broken plays,” he said. “If we can take care of the little mistakes and clean up how we execute our plays, we will have a highly explosive offense that will be hard to stop.”
Scouting Litchfield
“Litchfield’s offense runs a combination of a wishbone and spread, which many teams in 8 Man Football have adopted. We have the athletes to go to man to man with many teams in the league. The true questions is how disciplined our secondary can be, playing the receiver rather than the QB.”
Extra Point
Players at the 8-Man level are often overlooked by colleges at any level, but Stephens believes 6-foot-4, 330-pounder Logan Mount could pop on small college coaches’ radars by the end of the season if he “works on his strength and technique.”
“Logan does an excellent job on the [defensive line] putting pressure on the QB,” Stephens added. “He also helps set the tone on defense with his intensity, getting in the backfield almost every play.”