CALEDONIA — This is where Andy Crotwell hopes the Caledonia High School football team would be entering the fifth week of the season.
Wins against Shannon (on the road), Mooreville, and Okolona have the Confederates off to a 3-0 start for the second-straight season. But despite the unblemished record, Crotwell admits Caledonia has been far from perfect and that it has plenty of things to correct if it wants to continue to build a program. The Confederates took a big step last season when they won six games and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
At 7 p.m. Friday, Crotwell hopes Caledonia can take another big step against Lowndes County rival New Hope (0-3). The Confederates have lost 10-straight games in the series dating back to a 14-10 victory on Sept. 10, 2004. The streak includes three one-point losses and six shutouts. Caledonia ended that run last season with a 41-17 loss.
Crotwell saw signs of growth in that game and last season. He wants to see more examples of continued growth Friday and in the coming weeks as the Confederates move into Class 4A, Region 4 play against perennial playoff participants like Noxubee County, Louisville, and Kosciusko.
“We’re still trying to fit some pieces to the puzzle together, particularly on the offensive side of the ball,” Crotwell said. “We are trying to figure out some things that give us the best opportunity to be successful on a given drive.
“The defense is playing well. We expect that to continue. There is a veteran crew over there, and they understand their role and their responsibility. They are executing well right now.”
Junior running back Zion Ford (382 yards, four touchdowns) has carried a big load on offense for the Confederates. Junior quarterback Spencer Unruh has thrown for 225 yards and has a 42.2-percent completion percentage. He has 19 completions and two touchdowns. Will Burton (seven catches) is the team’s leading receiver. Ford has five catches.
Crotwell said one of the pieces he would like to see filled is to have someone emerge as a go-to threat at wide receiver. He believes the Confederates have been “just a little off” in the passing game and that things will start to click soon.
Crotwell also feels confident that the four new starters on the offensive line will continue to get better. That is good news for Unruh and Ford, who has shouldered a role similar to the one running back Brandon Henry took on last season. In 2014, Henry had 284 carries for 1,853 yards and 26 touchdowns.
“I think Zion has played well, particularly when he makes up his mind to get downhill and have his changes of direction be more subtle than trying to hit the sideline,” Crotwell said. “I think he has improved on that from the spring. I think he is one the more often he touches it the better he gets.”
Crotwell hopes his team follows a similar pattern and improves as the season progresses. He doesn’t put a whole lot of stock into New Hope’s 0-3 record and believes the Trojans will present a number of challenges the Confederates haven’t seen this season. That being said, he hasn’t spent a lot of time talking about the history of the rivalry. Instead, he has tried to focus on bringing the team together because he knows it will have to have one heartbeat if it is going to work its way through region play.
“We understand we have a big challenge ahead of us,” Crotwell said. “The series is very heavily lopsided in their favor, but we are going to go out and play our tails off.”
New Hope coach Kris Pickle hopes his team does the same coming off a bye week. Two weeks ago, New Hope lost to Columbus 27-6. It opened the season with losses to Louisville (20-3) and to Aberdeen (32-27).
“We just need some success,” Pickle said. “It doesn’t matter if it is Caledonia or Columbus or Noxubee County. We just need some success. Our kids have been playing hard, and playing hard since day one. It is hard to keep playing hard without success.”
Pickle said the Trojans took advantage of the bye week to work to correct mistakes and to find a way to take better care of the football. He said turnovers and mistakes have been constants in the losses, but he said he is beginning to see players emerge as bigger leaders. He hopes those players continue to develop a voice to help create a positive vibe on the team that brings everyone together.
“I hope they see how close we are,” Pickle said. “I hope they keep seeing that and keep working to get better.”
Pickle feels a victory would help push the team in the right direction. He also hopes the players understand they need to be accountable for their actions and that everyone, including the coaches, hold each other accountable. He said the players can’t point fingers at their teammates and expect to have success.
Playing an undefeated and motivated Caledonia team should provide plenty of motivation.
“I have seen individuals (step up and become more accountable), but I also see some of the kids who have had a hard time with that and who have struggled with that starting to change,” Pickle said. “I am not saying they are fixed or cured — and it is the same thing with the coaches. We have to do the same thing, hold ourselves accountable and each other accountable.
“Hopefully they see that playing selfish and playing their own style of ball is not getting anywhere. I am not putting it off on the players. This is something that we have all across the board, players, coaches, everybody. … We all have to own up to our own mistakes and hold ourselves accountable.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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