RBS Jr. High falls to Cannon Co.

By B. J. West 

The
JR High Dogs suffered a very disappointing loss Tuesday night in Cannon
County. We lost 20 to 6.

  
I feel the score should be reversed however. Our young Bulldogs played their
hearts out, but fell short of excecuting effectively enough for the
victory. It was a night much like the first game vs Pickett County–we
gave up 5 turnovers. We dominated the ground game, time of possession, and
the line of scrimmage. We forced several turnovers and penalties. The
Lions gave us every opportunity to take control of that football game. But
in the end, we couldn’t overcome our own mistakes. I will give Cannon
some credit though–they played extremely hard with a lot of
emotion. Coach Farsworth had his boys playing some physical football. 
    
We looked much like a team playing our first game of the season–not our
8th. We botched a punt that was shanked. We gave up an onside kick.
We fumbled a Center/Quarterback exchange.  We had a ball stripped from us.
We also gave the ball up just before halftime with an improper snap of the
football during a two-minute offensive drill. We should be a lot more
sharp, crisp, and disciplined than what we showed Tuesday night. We played
hard–just didn’t play very smart at times.  
    
I take full responsibility for the loss. I feel that some of our boys
weren’t mentally ready to play–which is a reflection on me as their
Coach. We didn’t execute our blocking schemes very effectively at times–a
reflection of not being fully prepared for some curve balls from our
opponent. That is also my fault, and I must work extremely hard this week
to correct those mistakes to give our fine young men the opportunity they
deserve to succeed. My hope and expectation is that our boys
will prepare themselves to work really hard this week in practice and
stand alongside me as we attempt to overcome our deficiencies as a
Team. We have some key injuries we need to rehab before next
week. Fortunately, we have a long week to get our boys fully
healed heading into our final game. 
    
We were blessed with wonderful fan/parental support Tuesday night–despite
the long drive to Cannon County. I feel extremely embarrassed by our
performance and wish we could have performed better for them after making that
long of a trip. I’m sorry for the way we represented ourselves. I promise
to do whatever it takes to “right the ship” in
preparation for next week’s final game.  
   
Next week, it will be our 8th Grade celebration night. A chance to
honor some wonderful young men that have dedicated themselves to this program and
helped it to turn a corner in a successful manner. I am very proud of them
and their accomplishments this season. We fully expect to come out
Thursday night and hit our opponent in the mouth and send these 8th
graders out on a winning note. I know they are already fired up for
it. We have a bad taste in our mouths that we are desperate to get rid
of. Please come out and celebrate our 8th graders’
accomplishments. Give yourselves the opportunity to see some of these 8th
graders in action.  You’ll be proud to look back on some of these players’
future careers and say, “Hey, I remember watching him play in JR
High.” We have some boys that are going to have some very
successful careers at the High School Level. 
    
In addition, we will have a Split Pot Fundraiser at the gate. It will be
$5 per ticket. At the end of the 3rd quarter, we’ll announce the winner of the
Fundraiser. The winner will receive half of the pot of money–as well as a Free
Dinner for 2 at Cracker Barrell. Don’t miss out! We will be playing Clinton
County on October 6th here on The Ridge. Game time is set for 7 PM.