Constantine’s football team blew Kalamazoo Christian’s doors off last week in a 61-37 road victory. Now the 3-2 Falcons hope to roll past its second parochial opponent tonight when they host Hackett Catholic Central (2-3), which is coming off 49-27 loss to Schoolcraft.
Photo by Wes Morgan
Constantine failed to win a Kalamazoo Valley Association championship the previous two years, but it reached high gear once the playoffs rolled around. The Falcons are likely out of the league title mix again this season with Pennfield and Olivet at 5-0 and Schoolcraft sitting at 4-1. With four games remaining, the program needs to win three contests to punch its postseason ticket.
Scouting Hackett
“Hackett has two big backs that can really pound the football, and a fast quarterback that has given other teams fits on the option and read option plays,” Constantine coach Shawn Griffith said. “Defensively, they run to the football well. We need to tackle much better and sustain blocks on offense.”
Practice report
Griffith continues to harp on a variety of things, including defensive technique. And the Falcons know they can pretty much attack any team on the ground. But it is the intangible aspects of the game he’s hoping to see improve in the second half of the season.
“Running the football has come naturally to us once again,” Griffith said. “We have a 1,000-yard rusher (Justin Hull), and two 500-yard rushers (Andres Montoya and Matt Hasbrouck). We also average over 500 yards rushing a game.
“Our team needs more leadership — guys that will step up and do something because it’s the right thing to do,” Griffith said. “Our seniors and juniors have been around a lot of winning football and winning football players, so it has been frustrating watching some of them struggle in leadership roles.”
Notes:
Griffith said there were no injuries to report, but that junior varsity kicker Tristian Butler was brought up to add a new element to the Falcons’ offense.