After 3 weeks of regular season play, the 2010 Cedar Creek Cougars stand 2-1. We’ve had big impressive wins over Grambling and Jonesboro-Hodge and a tough loss against St. Mary’s this past week. We now face a hungry Many team that is 0-3 after a tough early schedule. What’s gone right so far this season?
1. Hungry defense – Coach Haddox said in the off season, that his defense was going to play aggressive and ball-focused. They have. Big turnovers in every game have either sealed the deal for the Cougars or allowed them to stay in the game when their offense sputtered. The defense is as good as advertised.
2. Christian Marcus – He’s played well all season, but in the loss to St. Mary’s he was exemplary. Big plays on both sides of the ball. A long TD catch and run, as well as helping to force some turnovers and some big run stopping tackles, put him at the center of the Creek’s successes this past Friday.
3. Adam Van – in the transition from WR to QB, not everything has been smooth for Van. He’s made a couple of bad decisions that cost the Cougars, but overall his leadership and athletic abilities are a big asset for Cedar Creek.
4. Robert Feron – A great receiver, offensive leader, kicker and occasional return man make Feron irreplaceable for the Cougars. That showed when he was banged up and a little ineffective against St. Mary’s. Cedar Creek needs him healthy to be successful in the long run.
5. Austin Ginn – Ginn is to Cedar Creek what Adrian Peterson should be for the Minnesota Vikings. The first, second and third offensive options. Ginn is tough, fast, powerful and tenacious. He can carry the Cougars quite a ways this season.
6. K.J. Malone – Malone has been THE anchor of the offensive line this season. He routinely (almost always) draws a double team allowing his fellow lineman better odds with their blocks. He’s Ginn and Van’s best friend.
Now, what’s gone wrong so far?
1. A few hasty decisions – Van is still learning as a QB and there have been a few times where some more experience could have kept him from turning over the ball. That’s why we need to be excited that he’s only a Junior!
2. Short roster – This week against St. Mary’s the brevity of the roster (and the fact that almost everyone plays both ways) bit us late as the humidity and heat took their toll with cramps and exhaustion. The team is well conditioned, they just expend energy no matter which team has the ball and that matters late in the game.
3. Speed – This Cedar Creek team is fast, but with Grambling and St. Mary’s we faced teams with a few players significantly faster than us. If everyone doesn’t play responsibility football every play, we can get gashed for long plays as was the case with St. Mary’s Derion Porchia.
Overall, my impression of the Cougars 2010 season is a positive one. We’re already 2/3 of the way to tying last year’s record and it seems as if Coach Haddox and his staff have the Cougars back in the right direction for the future.
Written by Joel Sharpton. Let us know what you think here, on our Facebook Page, or by calling us at 888-993-7762!
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