It’s not that the Jefferson game didn’t count, but football season is just getting started for the Commerce Tigers, who have three more games before getting into region play and a shot at the state playoffs.
This Friday night, Commerce hosts Morgan County in the home opener at 8:00 at Tiger Field.
Last year, the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 33-23. However, the AAA school has a history of being big and tough, and coach Steve Savage expects nothing different this year.
“They have good size; they are big, which presents a problem in itself,” said Savage. “They have good quickness and good speed, they played a good team the other night and turned it over many times. Morgan County is going to be a tough opponent. It always has been.”
Last Friday, Morgan County lost to Mary Persons 38-14, while Commerce suffered a 30-13 defeat at the hands of Jefferson. What the Tigers hope to take away from the Jefferson game is a better understanding of the importance of field position and a focus on execution.
“We have to execute a little bit better, continue to play hard and be more in the right place then we were last Friday night,” Savage said, adding that big improvements come between the first and second games.
“Our football team is going to get better. You always have a chance to improve the most between the first game and second,” he said.
Morgan County and the Tigers have played seven times, with Commerce winning four of those match-ups in 2000 then again in 2001, 2002 and 2008. The last Morgan County win was in 2005 when the Bulldogs held Commerce to a field goal for a 31-3 defeat.
The burden of a Commerce victory on Friday night is going to rest squarely on the linemen’s shoulder pads.
“Our offensive line has got to move people back a little bit better and our defensive line needs a little bit better technique up front,” said Savage. “We all have got to play good; its not one or two people, we all have to play good.”
Savage also said that on the snap the offensive team must perform better while the kickoff return team is going to have to be more productive. The kickoff team had short returns during the Jefferson game, which adversely affected the Tigers’ field position.
Savage’s hope for dealing with the Bulldogs’ speed differential is to get his players into the right place at just the right time.
“We are going to try and be in the right place,” he said. “If we all play hard and execute and get in the right place, something good is going to happen.”
Savage says the Tigers need to take it one Friday night at a time.
“We are going to play one game at a time and find out what we can do,” he said. “We are not worried about what is happening down the road; we’re worried about what is happening today.”
