Photo by Wes Morgan
Fresh off a St. Joseph Valley League-opening victory over Centreville last week, White Pigeon (3-2) heads to Bronson (1-4) tonight. A victory over the Vikings would likely set up a contest for all the conference marbles — for the last time before the SJV dissolves — next week at Mendon. Bronson limps home after a 70-0 loss at Mendon last Friday.
Scouting Bronson
“Bronson is aggressive of the line of scrimmage,” Chiefs coach Joseph Morsaw said, “both offensively and defensively. Do not expect them to make it easy with their aggressiveness in shooting the gaps. We will continue to improve our technique, stay low on the line of scrimmage and play to the whistle.”
Injury report
Junior two-way lineman Cole Sellers suffered a severely sprained ankle this week. He plans to dress tonight but whether or not he’ll see the field is still up in the air.
Practice report
Morsaw said practices have been interrupted by parent-teacher conferences this week, but that the team adjusted, including a session under the stadium lights Wednesday night. He called it a “great hitting session.”
Eleven players every play has been the mantra for White Pigeon leading up to the league title with Bronson.
“We have little mental mistakes on every play,” Morsaw said. “We need all 11 players playing fast and doing their assignment. It is something we have been working on all season but we need better discipline to keep the ball moving down the field on offense and stopping the other team on defense. Sticking together and playing together.”
Senior Chas Rathburn has done a lot of damage as a running back for the Chiefs over the past couple years. However, it’s his presence at linebacker that has really stood out to Morsaw.
“[He has been] our defensive “quarterback” for the past two years,” Morsaw explained. “What makes Chas so good is he is willing to play hard every play. When he is doing this it becomes contagious and the other 10 will follow. He is also an intelligent football player able to help the defense around him put themselves in the right position to make their play.”