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Falcon football ready to rumble |
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Wednesday, 27 August 2008 |
By JIM FULLER
Express Sports Editor
North Country Head Coach Bob Davis has a smile on his face when he talks about his 2008 football team.
“It’s senior-dominated,” Davis said last week. “They came in
well-conditioned. They are cognizant of what they have to do better
this year.”
North Country finished the season with four wins in its last six games in 2007, after losing their first three.
“I think they have some pretty high expectations,” Davis said. “This team has them for themselves.
“That’s special. That’s unusual.”
Participation is up for a program that last won a state title – it’s
third in three years and it’s fourth in six years – in 1997. They also
made it to the championship game in 2004.
Between the freshman, junior varsity, and varsity teams, there are 70 players – up from 48 a year ago.
“We’re going through a period with a number of kids being involved in
sports,” Davis said. “They must have had a good experience with the
Junior Falcons. They must have had fun.”
Davis has imported three new coaches who have come from the Junior Falcon program: Larry Wooten, Cris Buckles, and Tim Simoneau.
“I give them all the credit in the world for the numbers,” Davis said. “They’ve done an absolutely wonderful job.”
Davis said he will carry about 25 again on the varsity team, but
expects some of the junior varsity players to play back-up roles as
well as play on special teams.
It is the “coachability” of this team that has him excited, Davis said.
“They want to do well. They work extremely well together.
“They have common goals.”
Davis knows that finishing the 2007 season strong with a junior-laden
team doesn’t necessarily mean the Falcons are a team to be feared.
“I feel,” he said, “and the kids feel the same way – we’re the kind of team who played well against the average teams.
“Against the better competition, we were a step behind.
“We know – to be playoff team – we need to up it a level.”
Davis said the team knows the ingredients for a successful season. They
need to eliminate untimely turnovers; improve their strength; and
improve their consistency on defense.
“These kids – they don’t quit,” he said. “We work them hard and they respond accordingly.
“I think they know they can win. They realize what they didn’t do last year to be a playoff team.
“Some of it is maturity.”
It could translate into a big year.
“I’ve always been honest,” Davis said. “They have the opportunity to do very well. I’ve never sandbagged saying anything less.
“We’re not fooling ourselves. We expect to win this year.
“Does it bring pressure? Sure it does. But we’ll live with that.”
Davis assumes the defensive coordinator role as well this season with
Dan Nolan leaving to take the head football coaching position at Lyndon
Institute.
Davis said his 4-4-3 defense will “flow to the ball” this season. “We’d
play great for three downs and then we’d give up a big play,” Davis
said.
“Offensively, we’ll be more polished.”
Davis has senior quarterback Aaron Grondin and senior fullback Andrew
Lafleur returning from the most potent rushing offense in the state
last year and the most prolific rushing offense in North Country
history.
“Teams have a real difficulty defending the option,” Davis said. “They don’t see it (the rest of the season.)
“It’s hard to defend with one week of practice.”
Davis said fans will see a difference in the passing game this year. It
was evident in a recent scrimmage where the North Country tallied two
touchdowns through the air. That is one more touchdown pass than the
Falcons managed all of last year.
Davis credits a corps of receivers – Emile Hartman, Cody Gage, and
Taylor Curtis among them – for the optimism in the passing game this
season.
He said he has had fun preparing a veteran team that came in to the pre-season in shape.
“They all met their conditioning expectations,” he said. “We haven’t had to spend time getting them into shape.”
Asked to compare this edition to those Falcon championship teams of the
mid-90s, Davis said that this team may not have as many skilled
athletes, but “as far as synergy – working together and the overall
ability of the team – they’re very, very good.”
And while most of the team is sporting Mohawk haircuts right now, one player who isn’t is junior wideout Ashley Marsh.
“She’s the first girl to make it this far,” Davis said. “She’s a kid
who loves football. She comes to practice and she’s into it.”
Davis said there are several players he expects big things from this
year outside of Grondin and Lafleur: Senior center and middle
linebacker Nick Vanasse; junior tailback and linebacker Jon Morin;
junior offensive and defensive lineman Donovan DeLaBruere; senior
offensive guard and defensive end Houston Judd; sophomore defensive
back Fred Leclair; junior wideout and safety Hartman; junior wideout
and cornerback Gage; senior slot back and outside linebacker Justin
Whipple; and senior offensive lineman and outside linebacker Todd
Skinner.
Davis did say that the tailback competition – like it was going into last year – was open.
“I’m excited to start the football season,” Davis said. “The season’s a journey.
“You never know what’s going to happen.”
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