Rosewood faces another running team tonight
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on September 20, 2013 1:48 PM
rhanchett@newsargus.com
Rosewood has a complex problem.
The Eagles have allowed 661 yards rushing during the last two weeks. Midway and Lejeune combined to score 93 points and each contest ended in defeat for Rosewood.
Lejeune's Jamaz Richardson rolled for 181 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-12 loss. The Devilpups rushed for 247 yards as a team.
One week earlier, Midway's Jeremy Robinson tallied 141 yards and two touchdowns in an offense that compiled 414 rushing yards.
Head coach Robert Britt has a clear solution.
And the answer is simple.
"We have to line up in the right spots and we have to tackle," Britt said. "I feel like we did a better job as the game went on against Lejeune, but by the time we got the kinks worked out it was too late."
Rosewood's defense is giving up 38 points per game.
"I think one of the big things we have to do is get off the field defensively," Britt said. "When a team feels like they have four downs to get 10 yards it changes how they operate. We have to do a better job of winning the field position game and taking away those opportunities."
The Eagles (1-3 overall) will look to improve their defensive tactics against South Lenoir's power-run offense tonight. The Blue Devils (1-3) got their only win of the season over North Duplin two weeks ago with a multi-dimensional ground game.
Dion Jones provides the outside speed for South Lenoir, while Noah Stroud and Logen Cauley push for yards between the tackles. Quarterback Kyle Huffman is a run-first signal caller who has more yards on the ground than through the air this season.
"South Lenoir is a big team and they have big backs," Britt said. "I feel like we will be fine with our size up front. We need to be able to get our guys in positions where they aren't chasing and they can make a sure tackle."
The two teams are meeting for the first time since 1996. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Branch Pope Field.