Panthers Look To Start Year Off With Road Win

The Ford Panthers take to the road to begin the 2009 season with a battle against Mineola at 7:30 p.m. today (Friday).

Last year, the Yellowjackets cruised to a 36-8 victory over Ford at Lytal Field. However, it will be a more experienced Panthers team traveling to Mineola for the rematch tonight. Ford Head Coach Derek Alford said he is expecting a better defensive effort from his team.

"In our scrimmages, the only times we were scored on at all has been on a big play. In two cases, we blew a (pass) coverage and on the other one, we simply misplayed the ball," Alford said in looking back on the preseason work against Edgewood and Athens.

"The bottom line is that we have to eliminate giving up big plays on defense," he added.

Alford looks for Mineola to provide quite a test for his team defending against the run.

"Offensively, they like to run the option and that is what we have worked on most of this week. Their passing game is good, but it seems they are not as good throwing the ball as running with it.

"Defensively, they have a very good left tackle, a big, strong kid who gets off the ball real well, and they have two solid inside linebackers," Alford said.

Perhaps the biggest key for the Panthers on offense will be avoiding turnovers. "That was a huge problem for us in our second scrimmage," the coach noted.

Alford also said he would like to see his offense generate a few big plays of its own.

"We haven’t had one play over 20 yards in the two scrimmages. We moved the ball downfield well, but we’re not making the big play," he said. "Of course, there is stuff we haven’t shown yet on offense.

"We’ve got a few things we look to do against Mineola," Alford continued. "We’ve also got to be sound on special teams. If don’t give up big plays on special teams, I think we’ll be fine Friday night."

Ford has a few players with minor bumps and bruises out of the preseason scrimmages. The only serious setback thus far is with lineman Bubba Knowles, who has suffered an ACL tear. Alford said Knowles is being evaluated and may return before district play begins if he is able to play with a knee brace.

Alford said although Friday’s tilt is only the first of a 10-game regular season, a win would be nice to start the campaign.

"Our success doesn’t come overnight and we’ve talked to the kids about that all week Success comes over a long period of time and by doing things right over and over," he said. "If we win, we know we will still have lots to get better at, and if we lose, it will be the same story."