The Battle of the WDs: West Dubuque vs West Delaware

Last Friday night's game was a bit of a disappointment for Bobcat fans.  The Hawks of West Delaware came out with the guns blazing as they took us for 49 first half points and a 56-21 loss.  It was a mixture of things that went wrong.  From soft defensive line play and inexperienced line backers, to lax defensive coverage in the secondary, there was not a person in the program that didn't take some blame.  It is my job as the coach to see that the players are ready to take the field.  It was evident that we were not prepared on Friday.  To the players goes all the credit in victory, to the coach goes all the blame in defeat.  That is the way that this business works, and that is as it should be.  I was very proud of the teams second half effort.  Not a single person gave up, as would have been easy to do at the half way point.  Our goal was to win the third quarter, and we did just that.  It was 7-0 Western Dubuque in the third.  There was not a person on the team that threw in the towel, and I am so proud of the guys for not quitting on themselves, their coaches, or each other.  With multiple players injured, it is always easy to give the team an out and say that we were just banged up.  However, I wont give us that out.  The guys that filled in for the seven starters that we were missing did a fantastic job.  The next man in philosophy is crucial to any teams success.  Everyone loses players to injury from time to time.  This was a great chance to help some of our younger players get the necessary experience to be competitive later in the season.  With every snap played, they get better and we build depth.  I was very happy with the effort and attitude of all 47 players.  Hats off to West Delaware, they played well.  We would love another opportunity to play them.  Perhaps we will get that chance in the second round of the play-offs.  One game at a time!  Go Bobcats!