Parkers Chapel holds Blue & White Game
Although no official score was kept, Parkers Chapel showed some glimpses of how explosive their offense can be during their annual Blue & White Game Tuesday night at Victor Nipper Stadium.
Caleb Jacobs threw a 70-yard strike to Tyler Killingsworth, while Chris Greer connected with Lancer Clark on a 40-yard touchdown pass.
Kori Morris and Edison Thompson also had rushing touchdowns for the Trojans.
But while there were some aspects of Tuesday’s game that Parkers Chapel coach Elliot Jacobs liked, there were others that he didn’t.
“We had a quarterback scramble and find a receiver for a deep touchdown. We liked that,” Jacobs said. “The defensive guys made some plays, but overall, I wasn’t real pleased. We’re having trouble understanding the tempo of how I want to approach the game or how I want this team to play. We’re not there yet, so we have to get back to the drawing board and figure out how we can teach our kids to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”
Jacobs added that while
the Trojans’ execution will improve with more practice, there was another issue that needed to be addressed.
“The execution wasn’t where we wanted it,” Jacobs said. “We’ve installed a lot of stuff, and the kids’ brains have been going in overdrive, so I’m not worried about the execution stuff. That’s going to come with more reps.
“But what we can’t coach is effort and attitude. That’s what I tell them every day. The only two things they can control are effort and attitude, and I’m not really pleased with where we’re at right now as far as effort. The attitudes are great. It’s just the effort, and I think it’s just them understanding, again, how the game is supposed to be played. Our goal is we want to make practice harder than games, so that games come easy. If our kids can ever figure out that concept, I think we can be very successful.”
The Trojans will now start preparing for their benefit game, which is scheduled for Aug. 23 at Henderson State against Gurdon and Conway Christian, and Jacobs made it clear what he wants to see from his team.
“What I want to see from them is practice with a purpose,” Jacobs said. “The team we are today better to be able to beat the team we were yesterday, so the team we are tomorrow better beat who we were today. As long as we’re continually getting better, that’s all I can ask for. But they’ve got to learn to practice the right way, and how to go about their business.
“When we talk about those kinds of things, we try to make life aspects out of it. Even in life, you’ve got to approach your job differently if you want to be successful at it.
“You can’t just go to work and collect a paycheck. You’ve got to want to be the best plumber, best doctor, whatever you decide to be, we want to create mindsets that we’re going to be the best at it. That’s what we’re trying to instill in them at an early age so they can go out and be productive citizens.”