Published: August 19, 2008 12:48 am            

Transition game

Mildred adjusts on front lines, sidelines

Mildred’s district title a season ago was fueled by its running game. The Eagles had two 1,000-yard rushers for a second straight season, and had four games of 400 yards or more as team, including a 500-yard outburst.

Change has come to Mildred in two forms: First, a new coaching staff is in place, save for offensive coordinator Steve Howell, the former Dolphins fullback who is making only minor adjustments to the scheme.

Second, and perhaps most important to Mildred’s current run of playoffs appearances — not to mention 1,000-yard rushers, is an offensive line that has been depleted by the loss of five senior starters, all of whom found a place on last year’s Golden Circle team.

“Right now, our offense is all right,” said senior Freddie McDonald, who is making the switch from tight end to fullback. Freddie’s brother Thomas, a sophomore, is moving from wide receiver to quarterback.

“We’ve got good backs and good wide outs, we’ve just got to get our offensive line coming together,” he said.

What hasn’t taken much time to develop is the relationship between new coaches and players.

Patrick Harvell, defensive coordinator at Class 4A Greenville a season ago, has taken over and spent the early days of the summer trying to put a staff together. It didn’t take that staff long to learn names once two-a-days began.

“The kids and the new coaching staff have meshed together well,” said Harvell, who was hired during the Eagles baseball team’s state run and attended many of those games. “... It’s going great, and the kids we have are doing a great job of giving us effort and attention.

“I can think of one practice, out of 16 in two-a-days, where I wasn’t pleased. With all of the others, we progressed and got better.”

At the high school level, the change is significant for all involved. For seniors like McDonald, former coach Joe Drennon and most of the assistants who left after him were all they knew. Same goes for Thomas and the underclassmen, who received the same instruction at the junior high level from the same coaches.

The transition is behind the team, senior linebacker Preston Stephens said.

“It’s going good,” the first-team all-area pick said. “They’re good coaches, so it’s not that hard to adjust.”

Defensively, the Eagles are switching from a 5-2 scheme to a 4-3, and even that is going smoothly, if not ahead of schedule, Harvell said. In Saturday’s scrimmage against Elkhart, the Eagles varsity did not allow a touchdown.

During the controlled portion, its offense didn’t do too much, either, but in the timed quarter the Eagles drove for a score in their only possession.

“After watching the film, it was a kid here or a kid there that hurt us (early in the scrimmage),” Harvell said. “I was impressed with the way we ended the scrimmage, though.”

A lot of that had to do with those five guys up front, as only senior Adam Stroder (5-10, 175) has started a varsity game. The unit should improve with repetition.

“The offensive line is the big deal right now,“ Harvell said. “They have to grow up quick.”

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Raymond Linex II may be reached via e-mail at rlinex@corsicanadailysun.com.

        

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