(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title, Holt Wrecker, R&R lawn specialists, Gibson Pharmacy.)
In this week’s Cardinal Podcast, Michael Hannigan sat down with Head Coach Sherard Poteete to talk about last week’s win over Blinn and Saturday’s homecoming matchup against Navarro. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Bruce Field.
Rolling Into Homecoming
The Cardinals come into this week after a strong 35-point first half in Brenham.
“It’s always good to go on the road and come home with a win,” Coach Poteete said. “Our guys did a really good job. Our coaching staff, our assistant coaches put a great game plan in Saturday and the young men went out and executed it.”
Defensive Leaders
The defense forced five takeaways against Blinn, giving the Cardinals short fields and quick scores.
“There was a couple drives where we had a one-score drive, you know, then we had a couple like two or three-play score drives,” Coach Poteete said. “It was the least amount of snaps offensively we had taken all year… that was kind of due to the defense giving you some short fields and then scoring quickly.”
Linebacker Lazavier Amos continues to pile up tackles, earning NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
“You go through the stat line and he’s in double-digit tackles week after week after week,” Coach Poteete said. “It’s been 12 this week, then it’s been 14, then he’s been back to 12 and even threw a couple sacks in this week.”
Coach Poteete also praised the group around him. “Those defensive linemen have done a great job putting pressure on, maybe eating up two blocks… they’re creating a lane for maybe the linebacker to come through.”
Scouting Navarro
Navarro enters the game 3-0 in conference play.
“This is the kind of game that you want to coach in, the players want to play in,” Coach Poteete said. “They’re playing really well on both sides of the football.”
He said Navarro is “very versatile offensively, formation-wise and athletics-wise.”
The Bulldog offense will line up in empty sets and with four receivers wide and also use some tight ends.
Coach Poteete noted, “They’re no stranger to going 12 personnel as well. They’ve got a couple of tight ends that are big human beings.”
On defense, Navarro runs a 3-4 scheme with large, athletic players.
“Their backers are big,” Coach Poteete said. “They play a lot of zone coverage with those four backers… they take up a lot of space. They’ve got a couple D-linemen that are getting after it as well. And then they’re long and rangy on the back end.”
Cardinal Offense
The Cardinals’ offense continues to grow as the season moves forward. “We’re kind of at that halfway point, we’ve been able to evolve, you know, guys’ roles have evolved offensively,” Coach Poteete said. “The longer that they’re in the terminology and the longer they’re in that system, the more we’re able to add to their plate.”
That experience is allowing the Cardinals to vary their schemes.
“We’re getting a little deeper into the playbook and hopefully we can keep people on their toes,” Coach Poteete said, “and maybe keep them off guard through formations and how we’re lining up and how we’re using our guys.”
Coach Poteete said quarterback Kaden Brown continues to lead the way.
“Kaden’s done a really good job for us just kind of being the point guard of the offense, distributing the ball and making things happen when things break down,” he said. “He does a great job of extending plays with his feet.”
This Week
* Saturday, Oct. 4 – TVCC vs. Navarro College, 3 p.m., Bruce Field, Athens
