CLEVELAND, Tenn. - So far the three-game losing streak Walker Valley is striving to work through hasn't had an affect on the postseason outcome. All that will change this week, however, when the Mustangs play their first region game since early September Friday against Rhea County in Evensville.
It will be imperative for the Mustangs to clean up the myriad of mistakes made against Cleveland last week in a 34-3 loss.
“Obviously, we made some mistakes offensively where we had some open guys.
We seemed to not all be clicking at the same time,” Mustangs head coach Drew Akins. “If we were blocking well up front, we don't make the the throw. If we make the throw sometimes we don't catch it.”
The mistakes can be traced to a lack of experience at key positions according to Akins.
“When you go back to not having a lot of returning starters and you don't have a lot of Friday night inexperience, you're going to have bumps in the road. (Last) Friday night was a glaring example of that,” Akins said. “When you look at our talent we're still very talented on offense We've just got to find a way to put it all together.”
The Mustangs will definitely need to put it all together quickly as hosting a postseason playoff game will likely hinge on their performance against the Golden Eagles in the Region 5-4A battle. Currently, the Mustangs are 1-0 in region play behind 2-0 McMinn County and ahead of 1-1 Rhea.
“I fully believe (quarterback) Evan (Schwarzl) is the guy. He's one of the best quarterbacks that will ever come through here. He's just going to have to gain experience and the more experience you gain the better you get,” stated the coach.
Schwarzl has enjoys a solid receiving corps featuring Tucker Ownby who has catches so far with more than 400 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. The bad news is Ownby is now drawing double and triple coverage leaving Schwarzl to look for open options.
Defensively, Akins feels the Mustangs did well even in a 31-point loss to the Blue Raiders.
“I think we had four, three-and-outs and a fourth-down stop. That's five possessions they got us the ball right back. At the end they just got tired,” the coach admitted. “Zeke Garrison has really stepped up for us. He had eight tackles and an assist as a sophomore.”
Akins acknowledged his Herd is frustrated with the outcome the last three weeks, but said he knows Walker Valley wants to win a region championship and host a playoff game. He and his staff have worked hard to get the team to put frustrations in the past and look forward to what is still possible.
“There is something we can do about the region championship, it's here in front of us. There is something we can do about hosting a playoff game, it's here in front of us. That's the conversations were having,” he said. “Our leadership understands that the games that matter are the region games. If we are able to fight through these next two games and find ways to win, we have a chance to host playoff games here. The biggest thing is, we can't keep doing the same things and expect different results.”
One of the keys for the Mustangs is physically correcting mistakes made on the field to match the continued positive mental attitude Akins said they continue to hold tightly to.
The Mustangs' wrangler said he and staff are working to get back to what proves to be successful in the early going and that is the running game.
“We've kind of neglected the run game. When Evan has had his best games he's throwing the ball 15 to 20 times a game. When he's had his worst games he's throwing 15 to 30 times a game,” Akins emphasized. “We've got to do a better job of running the football, managing the clock and limiting possessions. We've put more on Evan' shoulders and really that's not fair to that kid.”
If the Mustangs are able to put up a running game against the Eagles no doubt the defense will benefit by being able to rest between possessions.
“We've got to get back and trust our run game. We've proven we can do it,” Akins said. “We've got to work that better in practice and trust in on Friday nights.”
The time is now for Akins and the Mustangs. Every game so far has mattered, but it didn't matter in the long run. But, now every game really matters. Three of the final four regular season matchups come with postseason implications.
“I think our guys came back (from last week) with a great mentality. Their moral is really high. They are still doing what we ask them to do. They are still trying in practice and they are still giving us great effort. We still have their attention. We're not fighting our own team. Our kids are willing to do whatever it takes to go win a ballgame, we've just go to make sure we are asking the right things as a coaching staff. Our leadership has been outstanding.”
Akins praised Jackson Gibson, Eli Denton — who leads the state in tackles with 72 solo stops and 38 assists — Tucker Ownby and Bradly Montgomery, who have, according to the coach, “have been awesome.”
“You can't talk about hard times and then when you get in hard times you decide to quit. These kids aren't quitting. They are giving great effort every single day,” Akins said. “We have to make sure as coaches we are asking them to give the effort in the right direction. I think we've done a good job building a plan this week that puts that effort in the right direction.”
Though the night wasn't a successful on on the football field for the Mustangs, the team and community took pride in pregame ceremonies to bring focus to children and families battling childhood cancer.
“I was so proud of the “Go Gold” night we did last week. It was a really special night. I think the pregame of bringing the families out on the field was really cool. It was a special night for our community. Friday is the last day of September and it's the last day of Pediatric Cancer Month. It was a cool night for our community to be able to recognize the importance of Pediatric Cancer awareness.”