Neshoba Central Post Game Report

The Trojans traveled to Neshoba Central Friday night to take on the Rockets and escaped a hard fought game with a 19-10 win.  The Rockets held a lead of 10-0 at halftime before the Trojans came back to win with 3 scores in the 2nd half.  The win improves the Trojans record to 4-4 on the season and 2-3 in district play.   The Trojans continue to stay in the hunt for a playoff berth as we play host to our arch-rival Caledonia next Friday night to close out our division schedule. 

Neshoba Central benefited from a muffed punt after our defense had held them for 3 straight plays.  They recovered the muff and quickly moved into field goal range and scored on a 35 yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.  After a couple of possession changes, Neshoba Central, aided by a couple of 15 yard penalties, moved down for a touchdown to increase their lead to 10-0.  The Rockets owned the first half as they held our offense to 9 plays.  That is not a misprint, we ran 9 plays in the first half. Neshoba Central did an excellent job of clock management and we did not help ourselves any on the offensive side of the ball.  A big play right before the half gave us a chance to put some points on the board, but the half ended with us sitting at the Neshoba Central 5 yard line.  

Our team came out of the half and drove the length of the field and scored our first points to cut the margin to 10-6 after a muffed hold on the extra point.  The Trojans then held Neshoba Central’s offense in check and, after a couple of possession changes, we moved ahead on the first play of the fourth quarter 12-10 on a nice run by one of our running backs.  The two point try was stopped by the Rockets, however, leaving the Rockets needing only a field goal to take the lead.  The Trojan defense was controlling the line of scrimmage by this time, and held the Rockets on the next two possessions.  The Trojans then iced the game with a clinching touchdown and extra point to claim a 19-10 win.  The Trojan defense played very good for the entire game, with only a couple of mental breakdowns against the option game and in the passing game allowing Neshoba Central any breathing room.  The offense picked up the intensity in the second half and dominated the line of scrimmage to give our running backs some good room in which to run.  The Trojans did a good job on special teams with a couple of previously noted exceptions.  Our punt team did a great job of pinning Neshoba Central deep and creating good field position for our offense.  The coaching staff hopes that the Trojan team that played in the second half will continue to show up and the one that played in the first half will stay away.  We have to play an entire game and stop waiting until we are behind to decide to play.  Please make plans to come out and support the Trojans as we play Caledonia on Friday night at Trojan Field.  Game time is 7:00pm.

Mugs have been delivered.  They went home with the players on Thursday.  If you have not received your mug in the next couple of days, please contact the school and I will contact you about getting your mug.  Thank you very much to all the people that helped make our mug sale a success.

The Touchdown Club will have a meeting on Monday night at Trojan Field.  This is because the 7th and 8th grade will be playing their final game of the season Monday night against Columbus.  This is a make-up date for Thursday’s rainout.  Game time for the 7th grade game is 5:00pm.

Go TROJANS!

Coach B 

Neshoba Central Game

The New Hope Trojans will travel to Philadelphia, MS Friday night to meet the Rockets from Neshoba Central in a key division 4, 4A contest.  New Hope is coming off a huge win this past Friday night against West Lauderdale to record our first division win of the season while Neshoba Central fought back from a 35 point deficit against Caledonia before falling in a thriller 35-34.  New Hope has a record of 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the division while Neshoba Central is 1-6 overall and 0-3 in division.   This game will be homecoming for the Rockets so I am sure they will be fired up and ready for the Trojans.  The Trojans are playing for a chance to remain in the playoff hunt so both teams have plenty at stake Friday night.

Neshoba Central runs a multiple offense in which they try to get the defense to not line up properly and use the mis-alignment to their advantage.  They do this with numerous formations and numerous personnel swaps.  The defensive staff and players have worked really hard this week to prepare for the numerous looks that the Rockets give you.   The Rockets are big on the offensive line and move their linemen around to different spots.  An offensive lineman rarely lines up in the same spot 2 plays in a row.  They are very physical on the offensive line and do a good job of pulling out to lead plays and trapping you on the inside.  The Trojan defensive front will have to a good job of recognition and align properly in order to negate the looks the Rockets will try to give us.   The Rockets employ 2 quarterbacks most of the time.  One quarterback is primarily a runner and the other quarterback has the ability to run or throw.   The running quarterback is a very good player that lines up at running back or receiver when not at qb.  Our defense will have to recognize where this player is on the field at all times.  Neshoba Central has a couple of very good receivers that do a good job of route running and running with the ball after the catch.  

On defense, the Rockets have shown an odd and an even man front.  Their front people do a good job of occupying the offensive linemen and giving linebackers the opportunity to make plays.  Their linebackers are tough players that will strike you.  They put a lot of pressure on opposing offenses and run very well to the ball in their pursuit lanes.  Our offensive line will have to do a better job of picking up pressure than we have in the last few weeks if we are to have any success against the Rocket defense.  Neshoba Central has good smart players in their secondary.  They play their assignments very well and drop into their coverage zones with a lot of discipline.  Our receivers will have to do a much better job of running routes and catching the football in order for our offense to move the ball with any consistency.  Neshoba Central has a very good kicker and punter.  They do  a good job of getting the ball off in the punting game and do a good job of covering.  Their placekicker hit a 40 yard field goal a couple of games ago so he has range and is very accurate.  In conclusion, Neshoba Central is a much better team than their record and will come out Friday night and play very hard against us.   The Trojans will have to play with pride, heart and guts in order to come away from Neshoba County with a victory.   Please make your plans to come and support the Trojans as we travel to Neshoba Central to take on the Rockets.  Game time will be 7:00pm. 

Go Trojans!

Coach B

West Lauderdale Post game Analysis

The New Hope Trojans hosted the West Lauderdale Knights in our homecoming game on Friday night and prevailed in an exciting contest, 20-17.  The win improves the young Trojans record to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in division play.  The Knights record is now 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the division.  The contest was a very spirited, physical game in which the Trojans rallied twice from 2 scores down to win.  The coaching staff is very pleased with the way the young Trojans responded when their backs were against the wall against a tough West Lauderdale team.  This win keeps our playoff hopes alive and hopefully will provide some momentum heading into the last 3 games of the regular season.

West Lauderdale scored first after an exchange of possessions found them lined up with a short field at the New Hope 33 yard line.  West Lauderdale does an excellent job in their special teams.  As I said in the pregame report, they love to play for the short field.  This strategy paid off as they scored on the first play from scrimmage on a nice counter play to take a 6-0 lead.  The extra point attempt was botched by the Knights.  After a good drive by the Trojan offense fizzled out at the West Lauderdale 30, we decided to punt and try to play for the short field, borrowing from their strategy.  West Lauderdale foiled this plan though, as they broke a big gainer, again on a counter play, that went about 70 yards to the New Hope 15.  West Lauderdale’s timing oriented version of the wing T formation gave our defense trouble early on, but the Trojans defense stiffened and West Lauderdale kicked a field goal to take a 9-0 lead.  After the Trojan offense sputtered yet again, the Knights were driving for points again right before halftime when one of our freshmen defensive backs stepped in front of a West Lauderdale pass and took the ball the distance for a game changing touchdown.  This play seemed to turn the momentum to us.  Our freshman place kicker hit the extra point and we trailed at halftime 9-7.   During the break, we talked about some adjustments we wanted to make in our blocking assignments on offense.  The coaching staff thought during the week that we could win the battle at the line of srimmage against the smaller Knights, but their coaching staff had done a good job of preparing West Lauderdale for this and their variety of stunts and blitzes seemed to confuse our guys.  Our offensive coaches did a good job of correcting the problems that we were having and our players did a good job of executing in the second half.  On defense, our guys had not seen anything we did not expect and they had done a very good job for the most part, except of course for the 2 big runs on the counter play.  Our defensive coaches accurately predicted that West would come out in the second half in their spread attack with one of their running backs lining up at quarterback.  On West Lauderdale’s first possession, that is exactly what they did, but our players could not adjust in time as West executed 2 plays to perfection and scored on a 50 yard run to increase their lead to 17-7 after a successful 2 point try.  After another exchange of possessions, we decided to try and grind it out against them.  We had played a couple of new players this week on offense, including a freshman quarterback.  We had some success doing this, but we coaches felt that West Lauderdale could be tiring a bit and maybe we could drive them off the ball.  Our junior quarterback, who had lined up some as a running back when the freshman played qb, made a nice run in which he reversed his field from 53 yards out to cut the lead to 17-13 after the missed PAT.   We tried the surprise on-side kick and seemed to have recovered it as the official on the line pointed our way, awarding us the ball at the West Lauderdale 47,  but an official 25 yards behind the play came in and said we touched the ball before it went 10 yards.  The ball was awarded to West Lauderdale inches from the 50 yard line (the 50 is where 10 yards would have been).  Our defense played inspired at this point and got us the ball back.  After a great play by our freshman quarterback to avoid a sack and complete a pass on 3rd and 17, we found ourselves in a 4th and 1 from our own 25.  With a little over 7 minutes left to play, we decided to go for it.  This was risky, to say the least.  We got the first down on a great second effort by our running back.  Our junior quarterback\running back executed the fake perfectly on the next play and kept the ball for a 73 yard touchdown run.  The successful PAT put us ahead 20-17.  Our defense came up with a couple of big plays on West Lauderdale’s next possession and stopped the Knights at the 50 yard line with a little over 2 minutes to play.  Our offense was able to run the clock out and secure a key division win.  The coaching staff is very proud of the players for their efforts and determination Friday night.  We had several chances to give up and quit during the game and we never did.  We hung in there and made some plays which resulted in a victory.  The coaching staff wants to thank everyone for their support Friday night.  We had a big crowd and our fans really got into the game.  This is important for our players as it seems to inspire them to play hard. 

One note about Homecoming.  Our football trainer, Torrie Atkins, was crowned Homecoming Queen Friday night.  She has worked very hard this year to help the Trojans football program with taping, managing, and cleaning for our team.  Our team is very proud of Torrie and sends out congratulations on a well deserved award.  Please come to our Touchdown club meeting Monday night at 7:30 to plan support for our Trojans as we prepare to travel to Neshoba Central Friday night. 

Go Trojans!

Coach B

West Lauderdale Pregame

Friday night, October 12, 2007 will be homecoming for New Hope High School.  The Trojans will host the West Lauderdale Knights in a key division 4, 4A contest.  West Lauderdale comes into the game with a 4-2 record overall and is 2-0 in division play with solid wins over Neshoba Central and Caledonia.  The Trojans have a record of 2-4 overall and we are 0-3 in division play.  The Trojans have played a murderous schedule the last couple of weeks and Friday night does not look any easier.  West Lauderdale is not as physically imposing as West Point or Kosciusko, but they are a very disciplined team that does not make many mistakes.  This game will go a long way towards deciding the playoff fate for the Trojans.  Simply put, this is a must win game for us if we hope to make the playoffs. 

West Lauderdale is a very talented team on offense.  They run a version of the wing T formation  and use a lot of motion to give their offense the first step in running their plays.  West Lauderdale’s offense is very timing oriented and it will be a huge challenge for our defense to get lined up properly and move to the football.  Our defense must stay disciplined and not allow themselves to be taken out of a play because we were not focused on what we are doing.  West Lauderdale has some good running backs that are quick and strong .  Our defense will have to do a good job of tackling to keep these guys in check.  Their quarterback is a heady player that does a good job of running their attack and he does not make mistakes.  Their offensive line is smaller than what we have seen in the last couple of weeks, but they do an excellent job of maintaining pad leverage and staying engaged at the point of attack. 

On defense, West Lauderdale is not as big as we have seen in the last couple of weeks, but they work together as a unit and move to the ball with good angles and lots of desire.  The coaching staff has admired the effort with which West Lauderdale plays, which is a tribute to the quality of program they have.  Their front people (defensive linemen) are very active and their linebackers are not afraid to strike you.  They have a couple of very smart players in the secondary that do an excellent job of knowing where the ball is going and getting there to make a play.  The Trojan offense has struggled mightily the last couple of weeks against the active, athletic defenses that our competition has put on the field.  This week the challenge will come from a team that plays together and is very smart.   Execution of our offense and imposing our will on West Lauderdale will be huge to the chances for our team to be successful.   We must do a better job on offense than we have in the last few weeks if we are to be successful Friday night.

West Lauderdale has a very good kicking game.  They love to play field position and try to play for the short field.  Executing  in this phase and preventing them from setting our team in a bad position as far as field position will be critical.  We must not allow West Lauderdale to get the ball on our side of the field to start a drive.  Field position will be a huge factor in determining the outcome of the contest.

Friday is a student holiday, again.  This poses logisitical problems for us, but our players and parents made the situation work a couple of weeks ago.  The coaching staff is asking for your continued cooperation as we deal with this issue.  We are asking the players to arrive at the fieldhouse at 2:00 on Friday.  We will go to Fairview Baptist Church for our pre-game meal at 4:00.  Please make plans to come to our Homecoming game Friday night against the West Lauderdale Knights.  Game time will be at 7:00pm.

Go Trojans!

Coach B

Kosciusko Post Game

The Trojans went to Kosciusko on Friday night and came out on the short end of a 42-0 shellacking at the hands of the Whippets.  Kosy dominated the game in all phases to improve their record to 5-1 as they prepare for a showdown with West Point next week.  The Trojans will attempt to get back on the winning track as we host West Lauderdale in our Homecoming game. 

Kosy scored early and often as they built a 21-0 lead.  They are a very strong, experienced team on both sides of the ball and it really exposed our youth on Friday night.  We made several mistakes that can only be attributed to youth in giving up big play after big play.  We have still not solved our problems on the offensive side of the ball, and in all fairness, many of those problems can probably be attributed to the level of competition we have been lining up against.  Kosy and West Point are both in the top 5 in 4A in the state, and Noxubee is as good as they usually are.  Columbus is 4-2 after a solid win at Southhaven on Friday, so the competition level has been extremely high for the young Trojans.  We will continue to work to get better and focus on doing what we can to improve our team, and try not to worry about who we are playing or negative actions or talk, things that can distract our team and cause a loss of focus.  The coaching staff is going to continue to push the players to get better and challenge them every day in practice.  We are a frustrated group right now, especially on offense, and we need everyone to stay positive and encourage the team as we play our season one week at a time. 

There will be a touchdown club meeting tonight at 7:30pm in the cafeteria.  Please make plans to come out and plan support for the Trojans as we prepare to take on West Lauderdale.

Go TROJANS!

Coach B

Kosciusko Pregame report

The Trojans will travel to Kosciusko to take on the Whippets on Friday, October 5, at 7:00 pm.  Kosy comes into the game with a record of 4-1 and a division record of 2-0.  The Whippets have only surrendered 16 points all season and are scoring an average of over 40 a game.  The Trojans come into the game with a record of 2-3 and a division record of 0-2.  New Hope has only scored one touchdown in the last 3 games as the struggle to find consistency on offense continues to plague the Trojans. 

Kosy is a very experienced team on both sides of the ball.  They start 7 seniors on offense and run a variety of sets that is centered around the strong play of their experienced offensive line and the big play ability of their quarterback.   They run the ball  with the option game the majority of the time with their primary goal being to bend your facemask and force you to play assignment football.  The offensive line is very big and strong and creates matchup problems for most teams that they play.  It will be a huge challenge for our team to line up with them and compete at a consistent, high level.  Their quarterback presents a myriad of problems for opposing defenses.  He is a big, strong, fast kid with the ability to beat you with the run or the pass.  Stopping their option game and forcing them to do things they do not want to do will be the biggest key of the game for the Trojans.  On defense, the Whippets (a breed of dog) are big, strong, and experienced.  8 seniors start on defense and they are a tough, physical bunch that plays well together.  They take a lot of pride in keeping the opponent out of the endzone and it will be a big hurdle for our offense to overcome to get untracked against this tough, hardnosed defense.  Their front people do a good job of occupying offensive blockers and leaving linebackers free to make plays.  Their linebackers are quick and will deliver hard, punishing licks to opposing runners and receivers.  Their secondary people are fast and cover a lot of ground as they roam free without much responsibility in supporting the run.  Moving the ball on Kosy’s defense will be a big challenge for our team.  Kosy is strong in the kicking game as their kicker sends kickoffs deep.  Their special teams do an excellent job of covering and delivering bone jarring hits.  Their quarterback is their primary return guy.  Enough said about that subject.  

With all the praise that Kosy deserves, our players are excited about meeting them and competing on the gridiron with them.   The coaching staff has been pleased with practice this week and we are looking forward to going down there and competing.  This game will be homecoming for Kosy, our 2nd homecoming game in 3 weeks and 2nd of at least 4 that we will play in this year.  Hopefully, we will get our program to the point that other teams look to schedule somebody else for this game. 

Our 7th and 8th grade teams defeated West Point tonight at Trojan Field.  The 7th grade game dominated the Green Wave in a controlled scrimmage, scoring at least 6 times and holding West Point to 1 score.  In the 8th grade game, New Hope prevailed 22-12.  West Point won the 9th grade game 38-12, dominating the 2nd half as our team of 20 players just ran out of gas.  The coaching staff is very pleased with the effort being given by our 9th grade team.  The team is shorthanded with several key players having to play varsity and several other potential players dropping by the way side, but those 20 young guys that are out there gutting it out and giving all they have against teams that have twice as many players deserve all the praise that can be given to them for their effort.  The players that are sticking with it will be much better next year as the experience they are gaining can not be measured.  Their hard work and guts now will pay big dividends later.  Again, the entire coaching staff has nothing but total respect for these young Trojans. 

Please make your plans to travel to Kosciusko tomorrow night to support your New Hope Trojans against Kosciusko. 

GO TROJANS!

Coach B

Noxubee Post Game Report

The Trojans welcomed the Noxubee County Tigers to Trojan Field Friday night and after a hard fought contest, the Tigers left with a 21-0 victory over the home team.  Noxubee scored on their first drive of the game, on their first drive of the second half, and added a meaningless touchdown late in the fourth quarter to wrap up the victory.  Total credit for the win goes to the Tigers.  They possess a talented, athletic team that is blessed with team speed.  Their speed made the going difficult for the Trojans all night on offense as we could never seem to string together any consistency on offense.  The coaching staff is exceptionally pleased with the play of the Trojan defense.  The players played about as well as could be expected and thwarted a couple of Noxubee drives by creating 3 turnovers and making key plays when they were needed.  Our inability to move the ball on offense proved to be our undoing and Noxubee had a lot to do with that.

We won the toss and elected to receive.  We had worked on a trick play all week and our coaching staff wanted to try to put Noxubee in a hole early.  The play worked, but not as well as we were hoping.   After a couple of first downs, we elected to go for it on 4th and 4 at the Noxubee 45.  We ran a misdirection play with our quarterback, but he was tripped up from behind just as he turned the corner.  This would prove to be an omen of things to come on this night; almost making the play but just not quite enough.  Noxubee moved 56 yards in 7 plays to score the first points of the night.  After an exchange of punts, we moved down inside the 20 on a big run by our quarterback.  We had put in some new plays and formations this week during practice, and Noxubee seemed to be a little confused to some our alignments.  Their defense stiffened, however, and held us to an interception in the endzone on 4th and 10.  In this series, we missed a couple of blocks that would have made that series turn out differently.  Looking back, failing to convert on that series was a huge blow for our team and seemed to give them a boost.  At the end of the half, we held Noxubee on 4th down inside the 10 yard line and had less than 2 minutes to play left in the half.  The coaching staff was very pleased with the defensive stand we made and did not want to risk a turnover deep in our own territory.  After a couple of Noxubee timeouts, we lined up to go for it on 4th down.  The clock was running and Noxubee had no more timeouts, and we did not want to kick the ball to their star receiver with over a minute remaining in the half, so I told our team to run the play clock down and then jump offside intentionally.  This play confused a lot of our fans, but the rules state that the clock restarts after a penalty on the offense.  By doing this, we were able to milk an additional 30 seconds off of the clock before the half.  This left Noxubee with 19 seconds from midfield, instead of 50 seconds.  This difference in time changed their strategy and enabled us to get to the half down only 7-0. 

Noxubee started the second half with a nice drive of 65 yards in 7 plays to widen the lead to 14-0.  We were unable to respond on offense as their speed, coupled with more than a few blown assignments, crippled our offense.  The fact of the matter is that we just did not make the plays on offense for whatever reason.  We seemed to be our own worst enemy, and the pressure applied to us by Noxubee’s team speed on defense did not help matters.  We had one more opportunity to score early in the 4th quarter after the defense intercepted a pass, but we bogged down at the 25 and turned the ball over on downs.  Again, missed blocks and blown assignments crippled us as much as Noxubee’s defense.  In all fairness, we had several players that had played both ways much of the night and they were dead tired by this time.  Our lack of depth really caught up with us in this game and probably contributed to our lack of focus and execution on offense.  Noxubee closed the game with a short scoring drive with less than 2 minutes left in the game to make the final score 21-0. 

The coaching staff is very pleased with the efforts of the players, managers, and staff this week.  We put a lot of energy into giving a total team effort this week and our kids played as hard as they could for the most part.  We just could not seem to make a big play on offense and this really hurt our efforts to upset this quality opponent.  Our players and staff were very disappointed with the loss, and many of our fans were as well.  This is a positive step for our program.  We lost to Noxubee in an embarrassing fashion last year 43-6.  They played their JV in the fourth las year to keep it from being worse.  This year, they came in a solid 3-1 team with their only loss being by 1 point to 5A Columbus, a game which they led by 2 scores with 7 minutes left.  The fact that our players, staff, and fans were disappointed is a very positive step for our team.  We must remain positive for this disappointment to bring positive results.  Now is the time for our team to come together and focus on the remaining games we have.  It is extremely important for all of us to stay positive and keep in mind the theme we have tried to instill in our players all year long; The season is a Marathon, not a Sprint.  One game, win or lose does not make for a season.   Please continue to support our kids as we prepare to travel to Kosiuscko to play a very tough Whippet team, one that has only given up 16 points all season and is averaging 40+ points a game. 

We will have our regualarly scheduled booster club meeting at 7:30 on Monday night.  Please make plans to come out and plan support for our team. 

Go Trojans!

Coach B

Noxubee Pre-Game Analysis

The New Hope Trojans will host the Noxubee County Tigers in a key Division 4, 4A matchup this Friday, September 28, at Trojan Field.  Game time will be 7:00pm.  The Trojans come into the game with a record of 2-2 overall and 0-1 in division play after suffering a 36-6 defeat at the hands of the West Point Green  Wave last Friday in our division opener.  Noxubee comes into the game with a record of 3-1 overall and 1-0 in division play after defeating Caledonia 35-0 last Friday in their division opener. 

Noxubee County brings a variety of weapons to the contest on Friday.  They have outstanding skill people that possess great speed and are very strong.  Their program has produced several college players in the past and this team has some players on it that will probably end up getting the opportunity to play at the next level.   Their quarterback is a great athlete with speed and a strong arm.  He is a big kid and seems to command the field well in picking out open receivers.  Containing their quarterback and keeping him from getting out of the pocket will be a big key for our defense.  Noxubee has a couple of good, steady running backs.  These guys run hard and do a good job of always moving forward when running the ball.  Their runners are difficult to tackle and seem to fall forward on contact.  Noxubee has a big and strong offensive line.  They have a couple of guys on their line that are just massive in size.  The most impressive thing about their line is their ability to protect the passer.  Getting pressure on their quarterback is going to be a key for us, and their offensive line will make this assignment very difficult.  The receiving corps that Noxubee has will be among the best we will see this year.  These guys are athletic, strong and FAST.  The entire group is impressive, with one of their receivers being among the best I have ever seen in high school.  This kid has all the tools to play in the NFL one day.  He is that talented.  Keeping their receivers in check and and not allowing the big play will be critical to our chances of winning Friday night. 

On defense, Noxubee is very similiar to their offense; big, strong, and fast.  They play solid on the line of scrimmage and run very well to the ball.  Like West Point, they are able to make up for false steps with speed.  Their defensive line has a couple of players that are big and strong.  These guys do a good job of making you double team them .  This necessity leaves their linebackers available to run free to the ball and make plays.  Their linebackers are hard nosed kids that will strike you.  They do an excellent job of tackling and will present a huge challenge to our offensive players when we try to block them.  In the secondary, to repeat what I said in describing them  earlier, Noxubee is very athletic and very fast.  Their corners play close to the line of scrimmage and attempt to squeeze opponents at the line.  Their defensive backs do a good job of covering and they seem to tackle well.  On special teams, Noxubee is pretty strong, if you give them the opportunity.  They do not kick very well, but they are very good at blocking kicks and returning kicks.  It will be extremely important for our special teams to keep the ball away from their returner, who is the same receiver that I described earlier as a future NFL prospect.  In conclusion, Noxubee is 3-1 with a 1 point loss to a 5A school.  They have talent and athleticism all over the field.  This game presents a huge challenge to our team. 

The plan for Friday is for the players and managers to arrive at the fieldhouse no later than 2:00 pm.  Friday is a student holiday and it is very important for the players to treat Thursday night and Friday as part of a normal week.  The players have been strongly encouraged to drink plenty of water, eat a good meal, and get to bed early on Thursday night.  Any and all help with this request will be appreciated as we deal with this change in our normal routine.  I want to send out a special thank you to all of the parents that supported the decisions that were made concerning practice this week.  Sometimes tough decisions have to be made that we may not fully understand, and staying positive is crucial when this occurs.  In order for our program to reach the level that we all want it to reach, we must support decisions that are made even when it involves something that we may not understand or something that has not been done here before.  Remember,  insanity can be defined as doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result.  We all want our team to be successful, and sometimes that involves changing things, creating a new culture. Again, to those of you that unconditionally support our decisions,  THANK YOU.  Please make plans to come out and support our team Friday night as we welcome the Noxubee County Tigers to Trojan Field.  Game time is 7:00pm.  Get there early, wear black, bring your noise maker, and be ready to get loud!

Go TROJANS!

Coach B

West Point Post game

The Trojans traveled to West Point on Friday  September 21, to take on the West Point Green Wave and came up on the short end of a 36-6 score.  West Point dominated the action from start to finish with great athleticism, hard hitting, and outstanding execution.  The Green Wave were very well prepared by their coaching staff and seemed to have an answer for everything we tried to do on offense and defense.  The Trojans never seemed to get untracked, and West Point had a lot to do with that.  We will have to correct the problems that surfaced against the Green Wave and get ready to play again this Friday night against the Tigers from Noxubee County.

The Trojans took the opening kickoff and marched down to the 32 yard line of West Point before coming up short on a 4th and 4 play.  The Trojans executed well in the drive and had a couple of opportunities to keep the drive alive, but West Point’s defense stiffened and stopped one of only two scoring threats we had all night.  West Point then moved down the field with some nice passing from their quarterback to score in 4 plays.  The Green Wave came out in a spread attack, throwing the ball down field in big chunks, which was completely different than we saw in the 2 films we watched on them.  Give their coaches credit, they caught us completely by surprise.  The Trojans were unable to move the ball on the next possession and after a punt, the Green Wave again moved to pay dirt quickly via the pass.  The Trojans continued to struggle to move the ball against the Green Wave defense.  The Green Wave have great team speed on defense and are very well coached, so they were able to cover up bad reads quickly with their speed.  West Point tacked on a couple of more scores, with our offense helping them out with 2 turnovers.  Their quarterback did an outstanding job throughout the half of finding and hitting open receivers.  Having prepared all week to stop the running game, this put our defense in a tough spot.  The coaching staff thought the team played hard for the most part.   At the half, the Green Wave held a commanding lead of 34-0. 

During the halftime break, we talked about correcting some of the mistakes that we made in the first half, but mainly we talked about playing hard in the second half and not quitting.  West Point played mainly backups on offense throughout the second half, and played mainly backups on defense in the latter part of the 3rd quarter and the entire 4th quarter.  We decided to get in our Power-I offense and try to move the ball down the field for a score.  After giving up a safety when our quarterback was tackled in the endzone, we held West Point and took over the ball at our own 15 yard line.  The Trojans moved down the field and scored on a 1 yard plunge by our quarterback to erase the goose egg that had been on our side of the scoreboard for nearly 2 complete games.   The extra point hit the cross bar, leaving the final score at 36-6. 

There will be a touchdown club meeting Monday night at 7:30pm in the cafeteria.  Please make plans to be there and help plan support activities for our team as we prepare to welcome the Noxubee County Tigers to Trojan Field on Friday night, September 28, at 7:00pm.  This Friday is a student holiday, which will make for added distraction for our team as we prepare for the game.  I will post information as to how we are going to deal with this unique situation (not being in school on a game day) when I post the Noxubee pre-game commentary.  The coaching staff asks that parents and fans continue to support the team as we work to go through the season, one game at a time.  To everyone that has unconditionally supported the team this season, Thank you very much for your support.  We are building something special here at New Hope; just remember, it is a marathon, not a sprint.  Please make plans to come out and support the Junior High Trojans as they travel to Starkville to take on the Yellow Jackets on Thursday, September 27.  There will an 8th grade and a 9th grade game.  Game time is scheduled for 5:00pm. for the 8th grade game.  On Friday, September 28, make plans to come and support the varsity Trojans vs. Noxubee County.

Go TROJANS!

Coach B

West Point Pre-game

On Friday night September 21, the Trojans will travel to West Point to take on the Green Wave at McAllister Field at 7:00 pm.  The Trojans come into the game with a record of 2-1, having suffered their 1st setback of the season last week at the hands of the Columbus Falcons.  The Green Wave comes into the game with a record of 2-1, and beat their rival Starkville last week on the road.  This game will be homecoming for the Green Wave, a fact that the Trojans will see several times this year.  Hopefully, after this season, teams will look for other opponents to schedule for homecoming. 

West Point is an explosive opponent that is very well coached and plays tough, hard hitting football.  On offense, West Point will line up in a variety of formations and look to create mismatchs at the point of attack.  Their running game is very solid as their running backs run extremely hard in traffic.  Their quarterback does a good job of running their offense and has the ability to hit you with a big play via the pass or the run from anywhere on the field.  West Point has shifty, speedy receivers that catch the ball well.  Their offensive line is big, strong, and extremely physical.   They look to manhandle their opponents at the point of attack and containing their running game will be a huge task for our defense.  On defense, I do not think I have seen a better coached team than the Green Wave.  They are very physical on the line of scrimmage, their linebackers are fast and physical, and their defensive backs move exceptionally well.  They do a good job of anticipating and reading and run very well to the ball.   Our offense faces a huge challenge in creating space and keeping their defense off balance.   West Point has an exceptional kicker and they look to create opportunities for their team in the kicking game.  Again, we face the challenge of stepping up our efforts and not allow big plays on special teams. 

The coaching staff has been pleased with the reaction of the players this week following last weeks’ loss.  The players have practiced well and seem to be focusing on playing one game at a time and moving on to each opponent as they come on our schedule.  The players and coaches attitudes remain positive and we are not allowing outside distractions to get in the way of our preparation and focus on West Point.  We will not have the services of one of our starting linebackers on Friday night, or for the rest of the season.  We learned on Monday that #37, Darius Bankhead, will miss the remainder of the season with a leg injury.  Darius had surgery to repair the damage and will miss the rest of the season.  This is a player that worked very hard to help our team have a successful start to our season, and he will be missed.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to Darius as he recovers and prepares for rehab. 

The team will leave from New Hope at 3:30 on Friday afternoon.  The team will wear their travel shirt and khaki pants to school on Friday.  We will eat at Mr. John’s Place and then travel to West Point.  Please make plans to travel to West Point to support the Trojans as we face off with the Green Wave.

Go Trojans!

Coach B