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Spring Rewind: Overall Recap
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Courtesy: KHSFootball.com The Kathleen Red Devils will still be a young football team heading into the fall 2009 season, but this year they will have more experienced players at key positions. The Red Devils return 6 starters on defense and 9 starters on offense. One of the players who has stepped up and become a vocal leader on the team has been all-county wide receiver, Marcus Cunningham. Although a shoulder injury kept him out of spring contact drills, Cunningham was still able to particpate in passing drills and encouraged his fellow receivers to continue to push themselves to get better. One of the biggest question marks in the spring Coach Strickland felt his team had was replacing the three defensive lineman he lost to graduation. Those holes gave returning defensive lineman the opportunity to step in and snag a starting position. "We still have to do some tweaking, but once the players understand our scheme I think we'll be fine," Coach Strickland said. Some of the things they needed to work on that was evident in the spring game was knowing when to squeeze and when to rush up the field. Coach Strickland said those were fundamentals that could be improved upon in time for the fall. There was a lot of positives things that the coaches were able witness during the game against Winter Haven. The varsity defensive unit held the Blue Devils to just 3 points including a big goal line stand late in the ball game. Victor Troutman picked off 2 passes and almost had a third. Chad Abrams delivered some big hits when coming up to stop the running game and did a good job of making sure newcomers were lined up correctly. The offensive line gave Isaac O'Neal time to throw the football and even managed to create some room for the running backs to go through. Javier Rodea did a good job on special teams punting the football and punched in a field goal. Otis Buford, another newcomer on varisty, did a good job long snapping for the first time after having only 2 weeks to prepare. There were some negatives: 3 dropped punts and 2 turnovers on offense. Overall, Coach Strickland was pleased with the effort of the team. "I was pleased with the fight of the players and enjoyed what I saw out there," he said. "No matter what the outcome of the game is, it is always a success when you come out injury free heading into the summer." The 2009 schedule will be a tough one with 5 teams scheduled who made the playoffs last season. The Red Devils have been bumped up to Class 4A now and the new district alignments have added some tough opponents to an already tough schedule. However, Coach Strickland is still very optimistic about the team's chances in the fall. "If you want to become a better team you have to play the best," he said. "This will be a good test for our kids and I'm looking forward to all the games and seeing my kids fly around the football field." There is still more work that the squad can improve on, but with hard work over the summer in the weight room and dedication to getting better, fans should be excited about the 2009 edition of Kathleen Red Devil football.
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