DUBLIN — West Bladen coach Todd Pait has found himself with one eye on the season at hand and the other on the next one as he juggles putting his best athletes on the field and working younger players in to gain experience.
“Hey, just because you’re a senior, it doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to play,” he said Tuesday. “It doesn’t work that way.”
Mired in the midst of a six-game losing skid, the 2-6, 0-4 Knights will travel to Dunn on Friday and try to snap the streak against Midway, 4-4, 1-3.
The Raiders will offer up an offense that operates out of the Wing T with several variations and is skippered by quarterback Austin Raynor. Leading the ground game are running backs Sha’King Warren and Jake Clark.
“They have good athletes on offense,” Pait said. “And the quarterback can run or throw well.”
Over on defense, Midway will line up in a five-man front — one that Pait said is “pretty stout.”
But Pait is slightly less concerned about what the Raiders do and more on what his Knights need to do.
“We just need to show up and play good, solid football,” he said. “I really liked the way we came out against Clinton (last week) — the scoreboard didn’t reflect it, but we came out fast and had some success.
“A lot of our younger guys are really developing fast and it’s fun to watch,” Pait added.
Avoiding penalties and turnovers are always at the top of the list of keys that should lead to a win, but Pait said it’s also going to be important to execute well.
“I think a game like this one could come down to who executes the best,” he said.
Kickoff on Friday is set for 7 p.m.
W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.