PRC Blue Devils look to get first win at St Stanislaus
Head Coach Larry Dolan has seen improvement in his team each week and is pleased with the effort despite losing their first three games this season. Dolan is hoping the Blue Devils will continue to get better and get a win at St Stanislaus on Friday.
"I knew going in this was going to be a season that we were going to have to groom a lot of players to get them ready to play. We've gotten better each week looking back at film. We've just got to come together and put a complete game together and everyone do their job and hopefully some good things will happen. The kids are working hard," said Dolan.
Pearl River Central has had to make some adjustments due to some key injuries.
"That kind of put us behind the 8 ball when Tristian (Anderson) got hurt because we had worked the spring and summer on a split back veer and then we had to start a freshman, so it's taken its toll on us. This week we are now going back to what I've always done as a coach and put the freshman Cameron Brunson back at quarterback and put Tristian on one of our wings to hopefully give us a little more quickness out there. Tristian is back near 100 percent. Louis Reece is playing as best as he can with his injury, so right now we are about as healthy as we have been. Winston Drain is back from the injury he suffered in the first game against Hancock. The only one out is Ethan Galadoro who will miss the rest of the season," Dolan stated.
Dolan has been pleased with the effort of his team despite the record.
"We've got some good kids that are working their tail off and that's a testament to them and their parents and the community. I told them we can't focus on winning and losing right now, just play each play and ask did you get better? That's all I can ask of them. We were right there against Forrest County and we made a few mistakes that hurt us. One play here, one play there and we win that game."
Coach Dolan pointed out that his has some guys that have been laying it on the line each week.
"Cody Skoda has been a great leader for us so far. He has played a lot of snaps on defense and he punts, and he's had a good season at this point. Kobe Whitehead has played well. Offensively, Louis (Reece) has run the ball real hard for us. Tristian has been a good leader for us. Guys like our offensive linemen Justin Westbrook, Chase Pippen, and Justin Fincher have played real hard for us."
When talking about this week's opponent, St Stanislaus, Dolan knows it is going to be a challenge for the PRC defense. Their senior quarterback Jakob Greer has completed 32 of 67 passes for 399 yards and two TDs. He's also their leading rusher with 129 yards on 26 carries.
"They've got another great quarterback (Greer). He's a gritty kid and he's got that bloodline being Pat Morris' grandson. I scouted them last week and he looks the part and you can tell he's a great leader the way he handles himself. He can throw it, he runs hard, and he's your typical hard nose quarterback. They spread you out and run the ball and then Greer can throw it. They're big and it's going to be a challenge because they'll show four wide and throw it or line up the same way and run it."
For his offense to have success against the Rockachaws, Dolan says it comes down to two things.
"Can we block down and kick out on our blocks. With Tristian moving to wing, we hope that will allow us to run our speed sweep more and get to the corner, and if we can do that, they'll have to defend the perimeter and we can run Louis more in the middle between the tackles. We're going back to what I've always done. We've got to find ways to make the defense cover the entire field."
The Pearl River Central call of the game can be heard on wrjwradio.com and the WRJW smart phone app. The WRJW broadcast team of Eli Ouder (play by play), Jim Eastridge (color commentator), and Timmy Craft (sideline reporter) will have the call of the game beginning at 6:30pm with the Paw Paw's Campers & Cars Pregame Show. Kickoff is slated for 7:00pm at St Stanislaus in Bay St Louis.
