Week 6 Preview: East Clinton at Bethel-Tate

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Bethel-Tate has manhandled East Clinton the past two seasons.

The Tigers have wins of 61-6 and 55-14 over the Astros.

East Clinton’s last win against Bethel-Tate came in 2011, the last meeting prior to the 2017 game.

“Bethel-Tate is a good football team,” EC coach Steven Olds said. “Coach (Jeff) Essig and his staff do a great a job with those guys. Offensively, they are a spread team who likes to throw the ball as they have the top passer and pass catcher in the league to this point. On defense they will line up in a 4-2-5 look.”

Alex Manz is the signal-caller for the Tigers while Gauge Dunn is his top target.

East Clinton is 2-3 coming into the game, with losses to Hillsboro, Clinton-Massie and Minford. Massie and Minford are solid locks to be playoff teams at the midpoint of the season.

Minford escaped Lees Creek with a 28-21 win last Friday night.

“I thought our boys played with great passion and pride last Friday,” Olds said. “I was most pleased with how our team responded after going down 15-0 early in the game. To battle back the way they did, against the team leading Region 19, was impressive and exactly the kind of response your looking for as a coach. Unfortunately, we had one too many mental mistakes, a dropped snap here, a missed assignment there.”

East Clinton has been steadily growing each week. The guys up front on the offensive line have been leading that resurgence.

“I’m a firm believer that you build a team from the inside out and our team is no exception,”said Olds, an standout offensive lineman in his days at East Clinton. “The offensive line, as a unit, has been playing pretty well and my hope is that they continue to grow and get better as the season goes on.

“This team has gotten better every week and we look forward to continuing to get better over the last half of the season. If I had to identify one thing that we have improved upon the most, I would say it would have to be our physicality. This group has really started to buy into the idea that being physical on Friday night gives you a great chance to win a game, now we just have to finish.”

East Clinton’s offensive huddle during last week’s game against Minford.
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/10/web1_FB5_EastClintonHuddle_mel.jpgEast Clinton’s offensive huddle during last week’s game against Minford. Mel Arnold | News Journal

By Mark Huber

[email protected]

WHO: East Clinton at Bethel-Tate

WHAT: SBAAC National Division

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday night

WHERE: Bethel-Tate HS

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