Despite a big win last week, Blanchester head coach Brandon Sammons admits his Wildcats are not playing this week for a league title or continued chance at the playoffs.
“We’re playing for pride,” he said.
The Wildcats (2-5, 1-1) will host Clermont Northeastern (4-3, 1-1) 7 p.m. Friday at Barbour Memorial Field.
And for a young team such as BHS has right now, pride can be a big barometer for just how much progress this team has made.
“We’re playing for respect and to give our seniors something strong to go out on,” Sammons said. “We are trying to get these guys to work on playing, strong, finishing, fighting for the guy next to them and not backing down.”
Last week, Blanchester blasted Williamsburg 69-14.
“We really got back to basics last week,” Sammons said. “We knew the games we had played had really prepared us well for league play. We hoped the game would slow down a bit last week, especially for our young guys, and it did. Our line did a much better job and our young QB showed what he is capable of with about as efficient a night you could have, with one drop that his his receiver’s hands and another with a receiver that didn’t stop his route when he should have. Defensively our guys did a great job of rallying and containing. It was great to get our JVs in for the entire second half to get them some experience under the lights.”
Sammons said the Rockets are bigger than Williamsburg and will do things on both sides of the ball that will force his team to be disciplined to be successful on Friday night.
“They have had success this year and are confident so that always makes for a different edge in a game,” Sammons said. “If we can hold on to the ball, we showed last week what we are capable of.”
