Kris Pickle has hit the re-set button.
The New Hope High School football coach hopes that was the first step to helping his team rebound from a season-opening 25-3 loss to
Forest last week. The return of senior running back Tyran Reed also will enable New Hope to get back on track at 7 tonight when it plays host to West Lauderdale in its home opener.
“We talked about putting last week behind us and learning from it,” Pickle said. “I think we took them for granted a little bit, too. I think we thought we were a big, bad former 5A school that was going down there to play a smaller school, even though they are one of the top 3A schools in the state. They probably will have a chance to contend for it in the South. I think we kind of took it lightly. We didn’t prepare like we should have last week. We warned them all week long about the consequences of not preparing.”
Last week, Daniel Bradley’s 30-yard field goal accounted for New Hope’s scoring. Pickle credited a more aggressive defense for keeping the Trojans in a game that was tied 3-3 at halftime.
Unfortunately, mistakes in special teams and on offense bogged New Hope down and gave Forest advantages in field position that it capitalized on.
Reed missed the game against Forest recovering from a stress fracture in his foot. Pickle said Reed had the cast removed from his foot last Thursday and would be in a boot. He said at the time Reed could miss the game against West Lauderdale and that the “worst-case scenario” would be to have him back for the team’s game against Houston on Sept. 1.
But Pickle said Reed returned to practice Wednesday and was all business. He said Reed, who is a 215-pounder, broke three tackles the first time he touched the ball and immediately energized the practice.
“It gives us more balance,” Pickle said. “I don’t know if it changes the plays, it changes the play-calling. Now we are able to go from a 150-pound guy hitting it up in there to a 215-pound guy hitting it up in there.”
Pickle praised the effort of his younger running backs, but he said Reed’s size and experience will be a difference-maker. He also feels shuffling positions on the offensive line will help the attack. He said Jaylen Johnson has moved from guard to center, while Brandon Craddieth, who had been playing on the defensive line, shifted to guard. He said Craddieth will play both ways. Pickle said Bradley Peeks will play center and guard, while Jeremiah Hodges will mix in at guard, too.
Pickle said Craddieth brings a new sense of energy and enthusiasm he believes will spark the offensive line, especially in the running game.
Without Reed, New Hope showed flashes of explosiveness in a 14-7 victory against Amory in the New Hope Jamboree at Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium. Senior quarterback Kyree Fields and senior wide receiver Jeremy Tate showed big-play potential in the two quarters. Pickle feels the return of Reed could make Fields and Tate even more dangerous because he hopes the Trojans will be able to pick their spots when they want to exploit the athleticism of their playmakers.
“(Fields) was our leading rusher against Forest,” Pickle said. “He carried the all 12 times in that game. I really would like him to carry the ball five times and to have Tyran call it 20 times. It makes him more dangerous. He is a lot more dangerous when he is carrying it five times as opposed to when he is the focal point of the offense.
“Hopefully having the run game and getting it to kick in like I think it is going to, they’re not going to be able to be able to roll coverages as much to Jeremy. They’re going to have to commit another guy to the box or we’re going to keep running the football.”
Pickle credited Forest for coming up with a good scheme that kept a player over the top of Tate all night and left five players in the box to stop the run. He said Forest gave New Hope the underneath passing game and dared it to run the ball. Pickle hopes the Trojans will be able to run opponents out of that defense with Reed. He feels his players are in a better frame of mind after a better week of practice.
“I’d love to get back to running the football and hitting them big shots down the field,” Pickle said. “That is kind of what we have made a living on the last three years is running the football and hitting the deep shots. We have to do a better job as coaches, and I have to do a better job of taking what they give us and not forcing that deep ball.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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