Coach Marvin Justice didn’t mince words about his team’s performance last week. The Tigers lost 33-0 against Washington-Wilkes, a fellow Class A competitor.
And it was painful to watch.
The setback caused this week’s bye week to feel more work like for players than coaches had intended, Justice said.
“I would’ve liked to have given them more rest and relaxation,” he said. “If we would’ve competed on a higher level than we did Friday, maybe, but we played so poorly that I felt like there were some things we needed to fix.”
The loss was brutal in every way, with a special teams gaff on Washington-Wilkes’ kickoff after its first touchdown quickly setting up the team’s next score.
The Tigers never recovered.
In all, Commerce earned 92 yards on offense, with Washington-Wilkes posting 333 yards. The majority of those yards – and points – were scored in the first half, which ended 27-0.
“We had a bad night,” Justice said. “It was like Murphy’s Law. If it could go wrong it did. There were opportunities where you felt like if you could get something going, where we could get back in the game. But we couldn’t capitalize on anything. It was one of those nights. It was a bad night for us."
The Tigers next play Athens Christian Sept. 30. The contest will be the team’s first Region 8-A game as well as its homecoming.
He said coaches intend to keep this week’s practices short and filled with more film work than hitting.
“I think our team is maybe a little bit mentally and physically fatigued,” Justice said.
Part of the reason will give way as the weeks progress with Commerce facing equal competition. No more looking across the field at a team that’s larger in size and number.
“The first four games we’ve played, we’re outmanned each week, it’s not even close,” he said. “It would’ve been nice to be 2-2. But we’re not. We’re just going to try to take it week by week and win the rest of them.
