East Webster football coach Ron Price knew his Wolverines were going to be young going into this season and with the baseball team still in the playoffs, they were even younger.
The Wolverines finished off spring football drills on Thursday as they hosted Booneville and South Pontotoc in jamboree action.
The Wolverines, playing two-quarter games, lost 28-21 to Booneville and 21-0 to South Pontotoc.
“We came out on Thursday night and found out some things, which is what we wanted to do,” Price said. “We knew as a staff going into the spring that we were going to be inexperienced. We missed some tackles and missed some blocks and dropped some balls. With baseball still playing, it gave some kids some quality reps that will hopefully build some depth for us in the future.”
Despite the two losses, Price said there were some highlights for his young Wolverines. In the loss to Booneville, Price said Keevon Patterson had a touchdown run along with touchdown throws to Debo Patterson and Tyreke Pittman. Price also noted a big fumble recovery from Noah Hatcher that set up a scoring drive for the Wolverines early.
“I thought Ronnie Thomas came out and ran the ball really well for us,” Price said. “It was Keevon Patterson’s first time to play quarterback for us. He made some good passes and made some good runs. I thought Tyreke Pittman came back strong and ran the ball well. He broke his ankle in the first game of the year last season so it was good to see him back.”
In the second contest, the offense was shut out and lost 21-0 to South Pontotoc.
“We got out there on Thursday and it was 90 degrees and that’s was hot as it has been all spring,” Price said. “We were not accustomed to that. But I was proud of our kids for battling through it. We have got to get better at throwing and catching. We dropped too many balls that hit us in the hands. And we have to be more physical on defense and that’s going to take some maturity. We’ve got to get some maturity and the only way you do that is by playing. It will just take some time.”
Price said the take away from the spring was to be more physical.
“We have to be more physical,” Price said. “I want our football team to have that mentality that we are a physical football team. I want opposing coaches to tell us after the game about how physical we are. We are really going to stress that in the summer. There are a lot of things that we have to improve on this summer. And as coaches we have to keep reminding ourselves about how young we are and how inexperienced these kids are.”
Price said the Wolverines will work out three days a week and will do 7-on-7 throughout the summer.
