THE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL REGULAR SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE THIS WEEKEND. FOR THE CODY BRONCS, THEY CLOSE OUT THE SEASON ON THE ROAD AT GREEN RIVER. CODY, COMING OFF A HEARTBREAKING LOSS WHERE TURNOVERS DOOMED THEIR CHANCES AGAINST STAR VALLEY, WILL LOOK TO RECTIFY THAT LOSS THIS WEEK. FROM THE COACHING STAFF, TO THE PLAYERS EVERYONE HAS BEEN LOCKED IN, FOCUSED AND ARE DETERMINED TO FINISH OUT THE SEASON ON A HIGH NOTE. HEAD COACH MATT MCFADDEN TALKS ABOUT FACING GREEN RIVER AND HOW THE TEAM IS APPROACHING A GAME, THAT IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, HAS NO BEARING ON THE PLAYOFFS OR SEEDING.
“OUR PREPARATIONS BEEN EXACTLY THE SAME, WE HAVEN’T CHANGE ANYTHING AND I THINK THAT’S IMPORTANT. WE HAVE TO GET BETTER. THE GREAT PART ABOUT THAT STAR VALLEY GAME IS IT SHOWED WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO BE THE BEST. STAR VALLEY’S THE BEST, THEY’RE RANKED NUMBER ONE FOR A REASON. SO THAT WEEK SHOWED US, THAT GAME SHOWED US EXACTLY THE BLUE PRINT OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO, SO WE JUST WENT TO WORK ON THAT. WE’VE GOT TO GET BETTER THIS WEEK, NO MATTER WHO THE OPPONENT IS. WE LIKE TO SAY FACE-LESS OPPONENT. JUST GO TO WORK. WE GOTTA GO 1-0 THIS WEEK. THAT’S ALL WE’RE WORRIED ABOUT. WE’RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT PLAYOFFS. WE’RE WORRIED ABOUT GREEN RIVER AND TRYING TO GET THIS WIN.”
AS FOR THE MATCH-UP: GREEN RIVER IS A TEAM THAT HAS ALWAYS PLAYED THE BRONCS TOUGH. DEFENSIVELY, IT ALL STARTS WITH THE WOLVES MIDDLE LINEBACKER.
“THEY GOT A GREAT DEFENSE. TERRIFIC LINEBACKER. THE TUCKER KID LEADS 3A IN DEFENSIVE POINTS, HE IS ALL OVER THE FIELD AT MIDDLE LINEBACKER. HE REALLY RUNS WELL, GOOD SIZE KID AND READS WELL. WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO GET A HAT ON HIM, CAUSE HE, TO AVERAGE 29 DEFENSIVE POINTS A GAME IS INCREDIBLE. HE’S IN ON EVERY TACKLE.”
AND OFFENSIVELY THEY LOVE TO THROW THE FOOTBALL AROUND THE FIELD.
“THEIR RUN GAME HAS STRUGGLED EARLY AND THEY’VE COME BACK TO PASS IT. THEY PASS IT PRETTY WELL. YOU KNOW LAST YEAR THEY CAME OVER HERE AND THEY THREW THE BALL ALL OVER US. THREW SCREENS ALL OVER US. THAT’S SOMETHING WE’VE WORKED ON THIS WEEK. SOMETHING WE NEED TO PREPARE FOR. IT’S A GOOD WAY, IT’S A GOOD STRATEGY TO TAKE YOU OUT OF YOUR BLITZING AND TAKE AWAY YOUR D-LINE.”
HEADING INTO THE PLAYOFFS THE BRONCS ARE NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE CONFERENCE IN PASS DEFENSE AND COACH MCFADDEN WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE DEFENSIVE BACKS GROUP SHOW THEIR METTLE.
I THINK THEY’RE GOING TO GET TESTED, TESTED DEEP. PLAYING DEFENSIVE BACK IS HARD CAUSE UNLESS YOU INTERCEPT THE BALL THEY NEVER CALL YOUR NAME AND IF THEY DO CALL YOUR NAME IT’S USUALLY CAUSE YOU GOT BEAT. AND THAT’S ALL PEOPLE REMEMBER. YOU MIGHT’VE PLAYED 68 PERFECT PLAYS AND THAT LAST PLAY THAT GOES OVER THE TOP, THAT’S ALL THEY’RE GOING TO REMEMBER. I LIKE OUR DEFENSIVE BACKS. I THINK THEY’VE BEEN WORKING HARD ON THEIR GAME AND I THINK THEY WANT TO PROVE THEY’RE AS GOOD AS WE THINK THEY ARE.”
IT’S THE CODY BRONCS VS THE GREEN RIVER WOLVES IN GREEN RIVER FOR THE FINAL REGULAR SEASON GAME OF THE YEAR. KICK-OFF IS AT 7PM AND YOU CAN HEAR THE CALL ON AM 1400 AND 96.7 FM. PRE-GAME AT 6:40.
