eTearsheet - Kentucky Press Association

Richmond Register MADISON COUNTY FOOTBALL PREVIEWFRIDAY,AUGUST 17, 2012PIRATESContinued from page 4been tabbed as the startingquarterback.“The pressure is on any kidstarting his first high schoolgame or the first game of the season,but if you don’t have butterfliesin your stomach when yougo out there on Friday night,you’re not ready to play,”Coleman said.“He’s a good athlete,” Colemansaid of Tate. “I feel confident he’llbe able to do what we need him todo. If he manages the huddle,manages the play calling andmanages the ball he’ll be able todo what he needs to do.”Though the line is thin innumbers, Berea is not lacking insize.Among the players expected tomake an impact on the line aresenior Daniel Hubbard (6-5, 310),junior Robert Smith (6-0, 280),seniors Robert Reed and Derrick“We’re thin at line this year, but the ones we haveare good quality, so we feel pretty good about it.Our biggest asset is our seniors.We have a goodgroup of seniors.”BEREA COACH ADAM COLEMANBlanke and sophomores SamShear and Joey Rister, who areall listed in the neighborhood of6-0 to 6-1 and 210 to 220 pounds.Also on the team is juniorChristian Spiller (6-3, 250) atight end and linebacker whotransferred from MadisonSouthern.“We have to establish the runninggame again,” said Hubbard.“The line is going to be the key toour offense.”Last season, Berea went 4-7overall and 1-2 in Class A,District 5.The Pirates lost in the firstround of the state playoffs toHarlan, 35-12.Senior running back ZachCunningham and senior fullbackHunter Wilson each ran for morethan 700 yards last season.Senior tailback Devin Hesteramassed more than 500 yards onthe ground.Berea scored 225 points (20.5per game) last season, butallowed 324 points (29.5).“I think we’re going to hangour hats on defense this year,”said senior Eli Woodie, whoplays safety and wide receiver.“In the secondary we’ve sometimesbeen passive and gone forpicks, but we’re going to have tobe just as aggressive as the linemenand linebackers if we wantto have a powerful and completedefense.”Overall, Berea should have 26to 27 players on the roster, whichis down from last year.Coleman said the freshmanclass this year at Berea is smallerthan normal, which resulted in alower number of freshmen comingout for the team.Smaller numbers means moreplaying time for everybody.“Most of them are going to seeFriday night action,” Colemansaid. “We have no dead weight.All the kids we have are capableof playing and are dedicated tobeing here.”Berea has made improvementsto its campus, addingBermuda grass to the footballfield, and in the spring newlockers were installed in thelocker room.Coleman said he hopes theimprovements bring a new attitudeas the Pirates seek to challengefor the district title andearn the right to host a playoffgame.For the players, sending theseniors out in style is one of themain goals.“I’m going to work hard for theseniors and do my best so theyLOUISVILLE (AP) — A young Louisville football team that managed toearn a share of the Big East title last year is aiming even higher this fall.“The expectations are out there. There’s no way we can hide fromit now,” coach Charlie Strong said at the team’s media day onWednesday.Louisville received 24 of 28 first-place votes in the Big East’s preseasonpoll released earlier this month and Strong, now in his thirdseason, said his team can reach that mark if the players’ attention stayson improving as individuals rather than listening to outside chatter.“The key thing for our football team is just to continue to work,”Strong said. “Just don’t get caught up in the noise in the system.“We’re going to get them prepared to go play. Now it’s all about us,can we just handle it?”Despite returning 18 starters, this team still needs to find itself,Strong said, in part due to its small senior class.BereaCommunityAug. 17 Trimble County 8 p.m.Aug. 25 Gallatin County 6 p.m.@ Grant CountyAug. 31 @ Bethlehem 7:30 p.m.Sep. 7 @ Nicholas Co. 7:30 p.m.Sep. 21 Eminence 7:30 p.m.Sep. 28 @ Paris 7:30 p.m.Oct. 5 @ Lynn Camp 7:30 p.m.Oct. 12 Williamsburg 7:30 p.m.Oct. 19 @ Campbellsville 8 p.m.Oct. 26 Paintsville 7:30 p.m.get a winning season,” Spillersaid.Berea opens the season at 8p.m. today at home againstTrimble County, a team thePirates beat 19-8 last season.Strong: Cards won’t hide from expectations“What we need to do is just establish an identity. We know thatthere are only nine seniors, but still the leadership is still there becauseyou have guys who have played enough.”Last year was filled with freshman contributors who will be askedto fill some of the leadership void. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater wasthe Big East rookie of the year after taking over for an injured Will Steinin the third game of the season.The team’s top two receivers, Eli Rogersand Michaelee Harris, were freshmen and a third, DeVante Parker, ledthe team with six touchdowns. Jake Smith started every game at rightguard en route to freshman All-America honors. Calvin Pryor and AndrewJohnson emerged as starters in the secondary. In all, 13 freshmenearned at least one start for the Cardinals.Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said the staff jokes about theteam’s “veteran sophomores,” but also is providing a consistent messageon the need to constantly improve.