Greyhounds need more bite vs. Pios
Last year’s lone hiccup for Welsh on its road to the Class 2A state championship was a blowout home loss to Notre Dame.
The Greyhounds (6-2, 2-0) travel to Notre Dame (8-0, 2-0) on Thursday night with a chance to avenge the loss and clinch a share of the District 6-2A title.
For head coach John Richardson, neither of those things matter as much as seeing his team play well in a big game, something that didn’t happen in last year’s loss.
“Last year is over, for good or bad,” Richardson said. “The thing that sticks with me about the game last year is that we never gave ourselves a chance. We played poorly. The big thing I want is for us to go play our best football. We can’t get overwhelmed by the aura of Notre Dame. We have to go and play as well as we can to see if we can be competitive with them.”
Richardson said preparing for the Pioneers is not easy. Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 305-86, winning every game by at least 12 points.
“They are so well coached; their kids have grown up in that system and they give you a lot of looks offensively and defensively,” he said. “They are strong and athletic. You won’t be able to beat them doing the same thing over and over because they make adjustments so well.”
The Greyhounds enter on a roll, having won five straight. The Welsh defense has allowed 71 points during the win streak.
“We have been playing assignment football and doing a good job of tackling,” he said. “We have been in the right spot. Early in the year we were giving up a lot of big plays but we have done a better job of being where we need to be.”
Lake Arthur is alive in the title chase but needs wins at Kinder this week and against Notre Dame next week to earn at least a share of the district title.
District 5-2A
Rosepine (8-0, 3-0) can earn a share of the district title with a win over DeQuincy (4-4, 2-1). The Tigers and East Beauregard (6-2, 2-1) remain in the chase with a win. The Trojans play at Vinton (4-4, 1-2).
District 4-1A
St. Edmund (7-1, 5-0) can clinch a share of the district title with a win over Hamilton Christian (1-7, 1-4). Basile (6-2, 4-1) can remain alive for a share of the title with a win over Grand Lake (1-7, 0-5).
Notre Dame’s Thomas Stevens runs past the tackle attempt of Welsh’s Josh Pickle for a big gain during the 2nd quarter of their district game at Welsh High School, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017.