Story by Rusty Ellis
The high school football season is at its halfway point, and the Monterey Wildcats sit at 4-1 after a dominant 43-14 win over Rockwood.
There’s a lot to like about this performance if you’re head coach Scott Hughes, and at the top of the list was his team’s focus level heading into the game.
“We had a really good week of practice, and I really liked their demeanor,” Hughes said. “This group lives for Friday nights, and they reacted well after a loss. I was really proud of their maturity this week, and I think it carried over into the game.”
The Wildcats’ on-field effort was great in Hughes’ eyes, although he says the mistakes they did make were more on the mental side and that will need to be cleaned up.
“The effort was there, a tremendous physical effort,” Hughes said. “We just had a couple big mistakes. There were some dumb penalties and breakdowns on both sides of the ball. The only fortune we had was that we had the game in hand; it wasn’t in a spot that could’ve swung momentum…when those mistakes happened, it wasn’t at a critical moment that could’ve swung that pendulum back.”
One of the best group performances of the night was the offensive and defensive lines and how they controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the game. It’s an experienced group, though Hughes does say that it required some experimentation throughout camp.
“Our offensive and defensive line just play so well together,” Hughes said. “Early in camp, we had to make some moves and just kind of mixed ingredients together. We knew who could do what, but it was about finding the right combination…those guys trust each other and they play for each other.”
Combine that with a big effort from Mason Bowman, and you have a 2-0 start in this new region for the Wildcats. While it’s a confidence boost and something that the rest of 2A should take notice in, Hughes maintains that this group has never lacked the confidence to play like they have.
This doesn’t mean they don’t celebrate wins though.
“They do have a little skip in their step,” Hughes said. “I had an older gentleman tell me to celebrate every win, because you never know when the next one will come…they believe in each other, and they believe when they play well together, they’re a decently talented group that can have some success.”
Week six brings in a matchup with Tennessee Heat, and with that comes an opportunity for Monterey’s fifth win of the season.
“They’ve got some good pieces, and Coach Scott is a great gentleman,” Hughes said. “Schematically, they do some good stuff. They run a lot of motion, so you’ve got to keep your keys and not get confused with their motion and misdirection stuff…they’ll put us in a bind, so we’ve just got to be disciplined.”
It all kicks off on Friday at 7 P.M. in Monterey. The game will be live-streamed on Upper Cumberland Reporter 4 on Facebook.