Kris Pickle hoped the roots would take hold quickly.
Like all new coaches moving to a new school, Pickle thought a fresh start could work wonders with the New Hope High School football team. The former Aberdeen High assistant coach and head coach at Morton High knew New Hope had talent, but he also knew the program hadn’t had a lot of success under two coaches in the past three seasons.
Pickle’s task was straight forward: He wanted to get the Trojans to believe they could win and could compete for a Class 5A, Region 1 championship. While the team’s four victories in non-region games helped strengthen those tenets, Pickle realized the true tests to his players’ mettle would come in region games.
Pickle acknowledged New Hope didn’t play its best game Friday in a 33-17 victory against Clarksdale, but he said it is a sign of his team’s progress that it was able to overcome a slow start and a physical opponent to continue its momentum.
Pickle said Clarksdale’s physicality put his players back on their heels and it took a quarter and a half to adjust. Aside from a score on their second play, the Trojans had to play defense for much of the first half and “weather the storm,” as Pickle said. He felt New Hope wore Clarksdale down in the second half.
“On defense, we didn’t give up the big play,” Pickle said. “They were able to get one big passing play on us. It wasn’t our best defensive effort. We matched their physicalness, but they kind of took it to us on the interior until we adjusted to it. The good thing about it is we didn’t hang our heads whenever they drove on us. We were able to toughen up and get a stop when we needed a stop. That is the sign of a good defense. You’re not going to be able to stop them every single play every single game. You can bend your back a little bit and give a little, but then you have to tighten down when they get close to the goal line. That is what I was excited about more than anything is that instead of just letting them take it to them, they did for a while, but we were able to tighten up and get a stop.”
The final score was a reversal from last season, when Clarksdale routed New Hope 56-21. The victory helped New Hope (5-0) continue its best start in at least 20 years. The success has New Hope ranked No. 5 in Class 5A in The Associated Press prep football polls this week. Pickle hopes his players don’t get caught up in their own headlines and think they have accomplished their goals. Instead, he wants them to maintain their focus and understand bigger goals await them at the end of the season.
“They believe and think they’re going to win,” Pickle said. “I don’t think there is ever a point in the game they don’t think they’re supposed to win the game. They’re not trying to find ways to lose the game. Nobody ever tries that, but I had a conversation with another coach this week and he said, ‘Man, I hate to say it, but we’re finding ways to lose.’ The good thing about it is we’re not doing that. We’re finding ways to get it done, whether it is an interception, or a forced fumble, whether it is a big sack, or whatever it may be. We’re finding ways to come out on top. That is the sign of a football team that is growing up and believing a little bit.”
Last season, Pickle said he faced a similar situation when he was at Morton High. The Panthers started the season 0-4 and, according to Pickle, found ways each week to do something “catastrophic” that played a key role in their loss. But he said the Tigers started to believe and buy into what the coaches were preaching and were able to reverse the fortunes. The team won its final six regular-season games to secure a playoff spot in Class 3A.
This season, he said the Trojans’ “hunger” has allowed them to be even more focused. He said that drive to have a winning season and to compete for a region title has brought all of the players together. Wins against Aberdeen, Columbus, Caledonia, and Amory set the stage for the first step in region. Now Pickle wants to see his team build on it. A 161-mile trip to Center Hill will be an obstacle New Hope will have to overcome at 7 p.m. Friday, but he said the players should have ample time to stretch their legs and get ready for what should be another competitive game that will help sort out a region filled with contenders.
“There are no gimme games in our district,” Pickle said. “We have talked several times about how important the first four district games are. Not taking anything away from those first four teams because all of those first four teams can beat you, but if you start out 0-4 in district, you’re climbing up a hill. We knew what was at stake (against Clarksdale), and, hopefully, it continues on throughout this year.”
Pickle said the lessons about how to win will continue. He said the coaches will keep stressing to the players they have to continue “to show” their effort to back up their record. He never wants his players to rely on talk to carry them through the game, and hopes all of the Trojans stay hungry to help them push on toward their goals.
“It is scary you’re sitting there at 5-0 and you wonder, ‘Are they going to be content?’ ” Pickle said. “We set goals at the very beginning of the season. Everybody is going to say, ‘Oh, we want to win a state championship.’ The realistic goal we had was we wanted to compete for a district championship. They know now the 4-0 prior to district doesn’t mean anything. As far as I am concerned, we are 1-0. … We talk to them all of the time and say, ‘No one is going to remember 4-0, but everybody is going to remember 7-0.’
“If you get into the playoffs in our district, you’re one of the top teams in the state. We just try to keep them looking at the big picture. That is competing for district championships. The only way we’re going to be able to compete for a district championship is we’re going to have to be in position that we can do that when we play Oxford, West Point, and Saltillo in three of our last four games of the season.
“We’re going to stay on them. As coaches, we can’t get content because as soon as we get content and complacent and don’t coach as hard as we did in the beginning, they’re going to take on the same mentality.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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