After a rough 52-6 loss against Lincoln last Friday night, Mansfield Sr High Tigers head coach, Tim Cothran, fills fans in on what to expect from the Tigers as they gear up to host the Lavaca Golden Arrows on October, 23. Lavaca will be entering this game with a 0-3 conference record and 0-5 overall record while Mansfield will kick off the night 0-4 in conference and 1-6 overall.
How is your roster looking going into this Friday’s contest? “We still have several starters out with quarantine so we are not at full strength yet.” What is the biggest strength the Tigers will be bringing to the field in their game with Lavaca? “The seniors are playing well so hopefully that is a strength that we can count on.”
What do you feel has been the biggest problem up to this point in conference play and what can be done to fix it? “The execution of our offense has been a struggle for us. We tried some different things early but we found that our best chance is to stay with who we are. If the execution continues to improve in practice, hopefully, that will transfer out to the game field. There is an old saying “practice makes perfect” but in reality, it is “perfect practice makes perfect”. We have to strive for perfection.”
When it comes to Lavaca’s running, passing, or defense, what will need to be done to stop them? “Lavaca has a balanced offense with a talented group of athletes. We have to play assignment football. And we have to control our gaps and have better coverage in the secondary. If we will play to our abilities, it should be a very good game.” And what is the one thing you are looking forward to on Friday’s match-up? “We are just thankful that we have been able to play another game. There are a lot of teams that have had to cancel games because of Covid and we consider ourselves very fortunate to get to continue to play.”
