Story by Rusty Ellis
The Cookeville Cavaliers started slow against Siegel in jamboree action on Friday, and it led to a 19-0 defeat at the hands of the Stars.
For Head Coach Jimmy Maynord, the first thing that sticks out is that slow start, as he knows his team has to be better against the heavy hitters on the schedule.
“We’re going to have to play a whole better than this next week, or it’ll be worse than this one was,” Maynord said. “We were not very inspired to start the scrimmage and that’s what bothers me the most, because football is a game of emotion. You’ve got to play with emotion, and we didn’t do that.”
This Stars defense has looked stout so far, as they send Jourdyn Burruss back 10 yards. pic.twitter.com/nM84CAfxfu
— Rusty Ellis (@RustyEllis_) August 14, 2021
Junior Quarterback Mace Thomsen got his first taste of game action at the high school varsity level, and although he threw an interception early, he stepped into throws confidently and made quick decisions. Maynord says there is still plenty he can improve on.
“I think he can play much better,” Maynord said. “The interception is something you learn from…it’s good that it happened now. He just needs game experience. He’s going to be fine, and we’ve got to do a better job protecting for him. He’ll get better as he plays (more).”
Siegel takes over after a Mace Thomsen interception.
His previous throw looked good, kid definitely has a solid arm. pic.twitter.com/Guwbd7boga
— Rusty Ellis (@RustyEllis_) August 14, 2021
The next time the Cavaliers take the field in game action, the challenge gets even tougher. They will face cross-town rival Upperman at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium for their season-opener.
And as far as Maynord is concerned, there’s plenty for the Cavaliers to clean up over the next five days.
“We’ve got to get a good plan going in,” Maynord said. “We know that they’re a very experienced football team with a lot of good football players…I know we’ve got to do a better job up front at sustaining and maintaining our blocks, but we’ve just got to play better.”
Again, the Cavaliers and Bees will kick the season off on Thursday at Tucker Stadium at 7 P.M. The game will be live-streamed on the Upper Cumberland Reporter’s Facebook page.