Festive week doesn't hamper Champs' progress

Senior fullback Cory Phillips and the Cascade ground game are starting to hit their stride. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge]

It's homecoming week at Cascade and the festivities peak on the gridiron with the seventh-ranked Champions taking on Middle Tennessee Christian in a Region 5-A battle at 7:30.

As if it's not tough enough to keep the eyes of a teenager facing forward on the task at hand, coach Kenny Parker also has to deal with putting in a game plan amongst all the hoopla that comes with homecoming. But, things appear to be on the up and up.

"Our kids have handled (homecoming week) pretty good," said Parker, noting productive practices. "There hasn't been as much stress on the kids during the week because it's a laid back atmosphere."

Last week Cascade (4-0, 3-0) jumped out to a 42-0 lead with over 10 minutes left in the second quarter and cruised to a 63-19 win over a Community team in their first year of varsity football. Tomorrow night they again face a squad of rookies as the Cougars (1-3, 0-3) are also in their inaugural year with varsity status.

Middle Tennessee Christian is fresh off giving No. 1-ranked Jo Byrns a bit of a scare. The Cougars were well within reach of an upset, trailing only 21-13 at halftime, until the Red Devils put the game away with 28 unanswered points in the second half.

"I think they'll play with a little more confidence this week knowing what they were able to do against Jo Byrns last week and played that good half against them," Parker said.

Preparing for a first-year team is not the simplest task around. Coaches don't have a history of playing one way or another or of success or failure. All Parker and his staff have to go on are word of mouth and what they see in the film room.

"You just have to rely on what you saw on game film and go with what you got and work on what you do good," he said.

"They're a little bit different. Community has to play the kids that come through their door. This bunch doesn't know who's going to come through their door."

Regardless of the team, nobody likes to be scheduled as a school's homecoming opponent. Most take it as a slap in the face.

"The thing about it is everybody's got to have a homecoming and you try to have it the fourth, fifth or sixth week," Parker said. "Sure they're going to come in with a chip on their shoulder. They're not going to be happy that they're homecoming. Our guys wouldn't be."

The Cougars spread the field with their offensive formation. One side of the field typically has 2-3 receivers without a tight end in a one-back set. Sophomore Jake Francis and junior Scot Bartilson have both seen action at quarterback. Their bread-and-butter is junior running back Dillion Wade, who rushed for over 1,200 yards last year. At 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, senior Glenn Hollandsworth is their most imposing figure on the line.

Defensively MTC is likely to open in a base 4-4 but could quickly switch over to a 4-3 or 5-3. Junior linebacker Devin Brunsvold is a playmaker.

The Champs appear to be hitting their stride with their ground game, netting 627 between their last two contests. But, that yardage has come against schools with a total of one win to date.

"Our guys are starting to play with a little more confidence and a little bit harder," Parker said. "Hopefully, as the season goes on, us being able to play 25 or 30 kids a game will help us on down the road where some of the teams we're playing are having to rely on 15-17 kids. Hopefully how we've tried to address the game early will help us later."

On the other side of the ball, Cascade is allowing but 10 points per game. The starting unit has given up a mere two touchdowns. However, Parker suggests his hit squad is just starting to find an identity.

"Earlier in the year we started out with kids playing positions that they weren't accustomed to playing," he said. "They're starting to realize now what their job assignments are.

"Early we made a lot of mistakes defensively that because of our aggressiveness and athletic ability we were able to cover up."

Different weeks have called for stressing various aspects of the game for Cascade to improve upon. This week Parker and his assistants are looking inward at who's blowing the whistles in practice rather than pointing at something the players need to do differently.

"You have a tendency as the year goes on not to rely on fundamentals as much," Parker said. "We sort of evaluated ourselves as coaches and maybe at the first of the year we were coaching more not to lose than to win. And, we sort of took the fun aspect out of practice. You've got have some fun and be focused in practice."

Weighing the fun while maintaining a focused eye on the gold ball are laborious to juggle.

"It's tough and each year it's different and each kid is different," Parker said. "I don't know if I know what I'm doing and I don't know if we know what we're doing. What we're doing seems to be working right now.

"The kids expect discipline. They expect you being there to coach them and teach them. But they also want to know that you care about them as an individual. Our coaches do a good job of that.

"Our kids will play harder for their individual coaches because they know their coaches care about them."