Bob Jones and Sparkman football preview
BY SHANNON LAMPTON / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
Friday night, Bob Jones hopes to continue its march to a championship and Sparkman hopes to register its first Win.
To have any chance at all, Sparkman is going have to find a remedy for its recent turnover woes. The injury-plagued Senators, who lost starting cornerback Hunter Simpson in last week’s game against Huntsville, also lost two fumbles and an interception.
Another huge problem for the Senators was the lack of a rushing game as Huntsville held them to eight yards rushing on 21 attempts. Even with the turnovers, Sparkman made it a game until halftime. They will have no such luxury against Bob Jones.
Sparkman is playing a Bob Jones team whose record this year includes blowouts of every team except Florence, and which is clicking on all cylinders. The defense, anchored by five star recruit Reggie Ragland, is matched by a balanced offence and has added an opportunist special teams to its arsenal.
Coach Kevin Rose said that the Patriots spent a lot of item on special teams before last week’s game against Buckhorn, and it paid off. Rose’s team blocked two punts, both of with resulted in points. When asked about any concerns that his team would come out flat against a winless opponent, Rose said he isn’t worried about that.
“We need to focus on ourselves,” Rose said. “We want to use this time wisely and continue to get better.”
Rose is keeping an eye on the playoffs and the emotional slump that can occur in the middle of a tough schedule. His goals include keeping his players healthy and excited. Rose structures his practices with this in mind. He tries to shorten practice some and adds a few trick plays to the practice plan to make sure the players want to be there, not have to be there.
“We want to keep it fun so that players want to be there, not have to be there,” he said. “Winning is fun, and Friday night should be fun for the Patriots, and another disappointment for Sparkman.
Sparkman (0-7) v Bob Jones (7-0)
The game will start 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14 at Madison City Stadium.
Last meeting (2010) Bob Jones won 14-48.
