Game week dawned on Winder-Barrow High School Monday morning.
Specific preparation for Friday’s 2010 season opener arrived Sunday for the Bulldogg coaches as they met to discuss the game plan and to begin the final push for the season. For new head coach David Wagner, there is a sense of worry, not so much about the opponent his team will face at 7:30 p.m. Friday but has he covered everything that needs covering in order to fully prepare his team.
“I don’t think a year has ever gone by where I’m thinking about whether I’ve done enough to prepare my players,” Wagner said after Sunday’s coaches meeting. “With a new program, my thoughts are probably doubled in that manner.”
The new WBHS coach said it is always important to formulate a game plan and make sure the players are familiar with it.
“Still, there always seems to be more you think you should be covering,” Wagner said. “I know at some point you have to take the field and play a game that counts.”
First up for the Wagner-led Bulldoggs will be Rockdale County, a team which advanced to the semifinals last fall. Wagner noted the visiting Bulldogs will have several players up front returning.
One of the key players for Rockdale County will be nose tackle Grady Jarrett, who is Clemson bound.
“He is a force,” Wagner said. “That’s the only way I know to describe him. Teams have to begin to adjust their blocking schemes again him. Sometimes you simply have to go 2-on-1 against him and that means doing things different for other spots.”
The trip to the semifinals in 2010 by Rockdale County also means an advantage this season, Wagner said.
“They played four more football games than many teams,” Wagner said. “That’s almost a season and a half compared to other teams’ season. That’s playing experience in big games you can’t overcome.”
Rockdale, similar to WBHS, will run a Wing-T offense and a 3-5 look on defense.
“At least we practice against the Wing-T,” Wagner said. “We have to trust our reads and control the line the best we can this week.”
Rockdale will use plenty of misdirection offensively, something Wagner, who coordinates the WBHS defense, will have to contend with as well.
“In the scrimmage, we were in position to make plays but didn’t finish,” Wagner said. “That’s something we will have to keep working on, even this week. We can’t give up the big play.”
Bulldogg offensive coordinator Kenneth Sanders is looking at ways to make progress against Jarrett and the Rockdale defense.
“Rockdale will run a 3-5 defensive front and play Cover 3 in the secondary,” Sanders said. “They also have a 4-4 defensive front package. We will need to run the ball against both defensive fronts, control the clock, throw and complete passes in situations that are advantageous to us, and avoid turnovers and/or penalties to be successful on offense. The players have made huge strides in the past two weeks on picking up the new scheme. We are continually working on blocking technique and that is improving each week.”
After months of offseason work, there is no doubt the Bulldoggs are ready for a game that counts, their coach said.
“They are ready and excited for this,” Wagner said. “They’ve worked hard and paid a price throughout the spring and summer. They definitely have worked to be competitive.”
While facing an opponent such as Rockdale County in the opener may seem daunting to some, Wagner welcomes the challenge.
“You want to figure out where you’re at,” he said. “You want to compete against the best. You want to play and compete against a good team. What we want to do is get to their level and that means playing playoff caliber teams. You could always play down and beat someone that way but that really doesn’t benefit you.”
By playing Rockdale County right out of the gate, Wagner said, his team is in a position to earn a program turning victory.
“We have a bunch of blue collar workers who are going to give everything they have,” the coach said.
