Rosewood's Britt seeing glimpses of things to come

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 5, 2012 1:48 PM

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Rosewood remains a work in progress three weeks into the high school football season.

Is head coach Robert Britt discouraged?

Yes and no.

He sees the players' desire to improve every day.

But he also knows that little mistakes, which are mostly correctable errors, must be minimized -- or eliminated -- for the Eagles to enjoy success on most Friday nights this fall.

"We've got a hard-working group, but we've got a young group," Britt said. "I think they love the game. The ones we have with us enjoy football and want to learn. Every week they come in on Monday (for practice) and they work hard all week."

The Eagles (1-2 overall) have limited experience on defense.

The newcomers are adjusting to the speed of the game and discovering that their reactions must be quicker. Britt has seen glimpses in every game of how well the team can progress as long as it executes the small things.

Tackling, changing direction on plays and attacking opposing defenses have troubled Rosewood this season. He's noticed the players don't square up chest to chest, and wrap up the opponent with their arms.

Britt said the team must attack areas of the field quickly and decisively, and show discipline on defense. Midway magnified those problems by hitting big plays on third-and-long situations last week.

"Those are some areas we have to get better at (this season)," Britt said. "We got Midway in several third-and-long situations, and gave up big plays. When they got us in third-and-long, they kept us from getting the first down."

Rosewood allows 29-plus points per game.

The offensive line has been bright spot so far this season.

The group has done well sustaining blocks and opening holes for the backfield -- Spencer Garrison, Jamari McGowan and Josh Davis. Davis and Garrison each eclipsed the 100-yard mark against Midway.

McGowan entered last week ranked among the area's top 10 rushers.

"We're doing a pretty good job of running the ball," Britt said.

The passing game needs work.

Quarterback Jacob Sasser, a first-year starter, and his receivers have struggled to get on the same page each game. Britt said the receivers are "still learning the routes, which we're not running correctly and that makes a difference."

Rosewood continues the non-conference portion of its schedule Friday at North Stokes. Britt compares the Vikings to Wake Christian, a team that likes to throw the pigskin.

"We're working on coverages to make sure that our linebackers and defensive backs get to the right spots," Britt said. "I know these kids are going to come to work every day, and we're going to get better as the year goes on."