Ware County head coach Jason Strickland wants his team to take a long look in the mirror this week during the Gators first open date of the season.
“We’re not very good right now,” the veteran head coach said sternly. “We have players who are being selfish and we’re not good enough to overcome that. A lot of our penalties which are hurting us are selfish.
“We keep getting ourselves behind the eight ball because of unforced errors which doesn’t help. That can’t continue — we have to grow up and mature as individuals.”
Strickland, who’s in his eighth season leading the Gators was referencing many of the 23 penalties his team has been accessed in splitting their first two games of the season.
The Gators were able to overcome those miscues, dodging a bullet in winning 22-21 at Bainbridge to open the season. That wasn’t the case last week as Ware suffered some of the same mistakes in falling 27-7 at Coffee (20). see WCHS, Page 9 “We’re (coaches) going to fix these issues with an iron fist this week,” Strickland continued. “I’m going to find 22 guys who want to play and be a team player and listen to what we say. We can’t help teams extend drives. Coffee didn’t need any help and we did just that.
“They (Trojans) are really good. They had a big size advantage and just ran the ball at us behind a big offensive line. When we had a chance to get off the field we’d do something costly to keep a drive alive for them.
“Our guys played a lot of snaps when they should’ve been off the field. We didn’t help offensively by not being able to move the ball.”
While addressing those issues, the head coach still has worries about the health of some of his players. Senior wide receiver Ja’Londi O’Hara and junior kicker Jeffrey Gonzalez were thought to be lost for a while with leg injuries. Junior running back Jimmy Taylor’s ankle injury was going to be a game-time decision.
All three did participate against Coffee. O’Hara made an appearance before exiting. Gonzalez punted seven times and kicked an extra point. Taylor’s production was limited to nine carries for five yards.
“Ja’Londi is a warrior,” Strickland said. “I didn’t think he was ready after watching warmups. After the first delay for lightning), he wanted to try. I appreciate him wanting to give it a try.
“Jimmy still had some swelling in his ankle. He battled and gave us what he had. ‘Gonzo’ (Gonzales) didn’t kick all week and was a game-time decision. He won’t kick at practice this week either.”
While those three continue treatments and won’t practice, Strickland is excited about the return of junior defensive lineman Jameer Barkley, junior offensive lineman Uriah Benefield and junior wide receiver LeTarrian Hayes.
“Getting those guys back and on the grass is huge,” Strickland said. “Jameer’s presence will help our defensive front. Uriah’s return will help us formulate a rotation on the offensive line. Back during the spring, he was a starter and was looking good.
“LeTarrian has been missed in the passing game. Having him and Ja’Londi on the field at the same time opens things up for other receivers.”
One last change moving forward was a decision Strickland started last week. The rise in onfield fighting in the handshake line after a game has become a nationwide issue.
“After seeing the incident at the end of the Toombs County-Benedictine game and another in Florida,” Strickland said, “I thought about player safety. I contacted Coffee High and explained my concerns. Players lay everything on the line for a Friday night game and many have a lot of chirping amongst players during plays.
“I talked to their (Trojans) head coach (Mike Coe) and let him know my concerns and feelings. I told him we would meet in the middle of the field and shake hands after the game, but I was sending my players off the field. He agreed with the idea.
“We’re now done with handshakes after a game. Our policy moving forward is I’ll shake hands with the opposing head coach and our players will go on to gather in front of the band.”
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