Caledonia High School first-year head football coach Andy Crotwell knew his team would be young in several key spots this season.
Now the Confederates will work to grow up faster in most of those spots.
Caledonia showed flashes of putting a quality offense on the field in its season opener. In the end, too many mistakes and a lack of consistency led to a 35-14 loss to Heritage Academy in the season opener for both teams Thursday night at C.L. Mitchell Field.
“We are still kind of hunting and pecking instead of dropping and running,” Crotwell said. “We have a lot of hesitation in what we are doing. That is because we have young guys who don’t trust what their responsibilities are. Those are correctable things. That is the good news. The bad news is a lot of that correcting comes from experience. That comes with time. I think we can get there if we get better each week.”
Senior quarterback Ben Marchbanks and senior Quavis Betts give the Confederates a 1-2 punch in the backfield. Still, the team’s youth showed up on the offensive line, where Heritage Academy controlled the line of scrimmage.
Caledonia had 166 yards of total offense, but two turnovers sidetracked drives.
“The more often (the offensive line) sees different looks and the more exposure they get, they will get more comfortable with what they are seeing,” Crotwell said. “When you are not sure who to block at times because you are seeing looks you haven’t seen before, it can lead to some hesitancy. We have to eliminate that so our players can line up and get after folks.
Caledonia did have some big plays on defense. A pass interception by junior James Longmire set the Confederates up for an easy touchdown and an early 7-0 lead. The Confederates hung tough defensively but was done in the middle stages of the game when the offense failed to gain consistency. Caledonia had a stretch of five possessions with just two first downs.
Heritage Academy averaged 5 yards per rush. To Caledonia’s credit, it marched 73 yards on 12 plays in the fourth quarter. A 9-yard touchdown pass from Marchbanks to Joshua Betts capped the drive.
“We calmed down a little bit and came off the football some,” Crotwell said. “There are still some things we have to do a lot better. I know (that score) helped our guys a little bit. We just have to settle down and play football.”
Crotwell still likes the attitude of his team. The youth is a two-sided element. The Confederates are being asked to grow up quickly against a challenging non-region schedule. On the other hand, many of the players are too young to be mired in the team’s eight-game losing streak dating back to last season.
Caledonia will try to snap that losing skid with back-to-back home games against Hamilton and Smithville.
“We have to keep plugging away and get better,” Crotwell said. “I like what we are doing. It is just a matter of how quickly we can get there.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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