SJCC finds Week 1 positives as it prepares for St. Paul

FREMONT — In the moments following last week’s 37-6 loss to Mohawk, St. Joseph Central Catholic coach TJ Buckley was displeased. He didn’t like how his team got manhandled and gave up over 400 yards of offense.

But when he watched the game again on film, he realized the game and his team were not as bad as he first thought.

“We didn’t play as bad as the score showed,” Buckley said. “And a lot of people say that, but when I was watching film it was one guy here, one guy there. It wasn’t like last year where it was a wholesale of people.”

Although he didn’t realize it at the time, the Crimson Streak offense had only one three-and-out, on its first possession of the game. Thereafter, SJCC moved the ball fairly well, totaling 207 yards of offense with a solid balance between passing (130 yards on 13-of-21 passing) and rushing (77 yards on 27 carries). Drives broke down because of singular miscues, a dropped pass and, Buckley admitted, his own failure to call a timeout on fourth down.

The film session gave him, and his coaches, something they didn’t have in the immediate aftermath of last Friday night: optimism.

“After watching it, things are easily fixed, unlike last year, where we’re just young and inexperienced,” Buckley said. “That excuse is gone. That’s not an excuse anymore because we have plenty of experience we have plenty of size. We can do things.”

But doing those things won’t get any easier this week as SJCC opens the home portion of its schedule at 7 p.m. Friday at Don Paul Stadium against Norwalk St. Paul, the defending Division VII state runner-up.

Buckley said the biggest area his team needs to improve on from last week to this week is its aggression. In the early going against Mohawk, Buckley said his team “got punched in the mouth and we took it for a little bit.”

As it prepares for St. Paul, SJCC is emphasizing the importance of being on the attack against the heavily favored Flyers as opposed to being on the defensive.

“We have to deliver the blow, we can’t take the blow,” Buckley said. “Monday and Tuesday (in practice), we punched each other in the mouth. We got after it, best-on-best going at it. It was hot, we had kids puking and I’m getting in there and we got after it.

“We know they’re good and we know we had a bad week last week,” he said. “But I told the kids if we come out and we play hard and do things (we need to do), we’re going to shock some people. We have to have the shock factor. We need to come out and play and just get after it.”

rmcgowan@gannett.com

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Twitter: @RMcGowan1

If you go

• What: St. Joseph Central Catholic’s home opener against Norwalk St. Paul

• When: 7 p.m. Friday

• Where: Don Paul Stadium