Mistakes doom Bob Jones in Parker’s coaching debut
HARTSELLE – Things began good enough for visiting Bob Jones in its first game under head coach Seth Parker.
A largely inexperienced team with a freshman center recently forced into action and a sophomore quarterback held its own coming out of the gate. The sophomore completed his first two passes on the Patriots’ first two possessions, shotgun snaps were on target, and senior Kamdyn Carson had a sack to force a punt on Hartselle’s first series.
The good times, however, would soon give way to a series of errors that doomed Bob Jones in a 35-6 loss to the host Tigers at J.P. Cain Stadium in a Week 0 season opener.
A blocked punt set up Hartselle’s first touchdown with 2:14 left in the first quarter and signaled the Patriots’ undoing. As things fell apart, guilt was shared by many.
The offense: two interceptions and a lost fumble on a snap that led to a safety.
The defense: players relaxed on a dropped swing toss that was actually a lateral, was picked up by the Tigers’ Malachi Pawlitschek and went for a big run to set up a score.
The special teams: the blocked punt that set up Hartselle’s first touchdown, a returner inexplicably failed to catch a kickoff that was coming virtually right at him, and an extra point was blocked.
That was just in the first half as Hartselle took a comfortable 25-0 lead.
“I think more than anything, you know, as head coach, I didn’t have this ready to play,” Parker said. “It falls back on my shoulders. So, yes, there’s youth involved, but ultimately, we have to take care of the ball.
“We had a couple mishaps on special teams, some simple dropped snaps. But it is what it is, and we gotta roll (on). There’s no excuses. They played a good mistake free game, and we made a bunch of them.”
The Patriots Jaden Rice scored on a 27-yard run late in the third quarter that made it 28-6.
Rice said moving forward Bob Jones has to, “do the next right thing. Just move on past it, focus on the next game.”
The Patriots host Athens this week.
“We’ve got nine more games ahead of us,” Parker said. “I think we’ve got a good football team. We’re going to go back, not to the drawing board, but get back to work and be ready to go against Athens.
“I mean, it’s early in the year. It’s the best time of the year. We’re going to fight our tail off and we’re not tucking our tail.”
