Limiting turnovers the main focus for Beavers as they head to Jessieville
Turnovers have been the focus for the Glen Rose Beavers the entirety of the 2020 football season. Last week the Beavers lost three fumbles in the first half of their game against Haskell Harmony Grove. Fortunately for the Beavers adjustments were made and the Beavers escaped their arch rivals with the win 42-20.
“We can’t have three turnovers in the first half and expect to play anybody any good,” Beavers head coach Mark Kehner said. “It’s an area of high concern for us right now but we’re working on it.”
The game plan this week as the Beavers open 5-3A conference play is to cut back the amount of people playing and try to zone in on taking care of the football. “I think it’s going to help us out some, but we won’t know until the lights are on Friday,” Kehner said.
This week the 2-1 Beavers go back out on the road for the third straight week to face longtime conference opponent the Jessieville Lions at Don Phillips Field. Jessieville currently owns a 2-1 record, having won their first game 42-27 against Haskell Harmony Grove, then beating Mount Ida in week two, 27-22. The Lions then lost their third game to Dierks 46-28 last week. The Lions trailed Dierks 32-6 at halftime but made a small comeback in the second to fall by 18 points. In their game with Dierks, the Lions had 364 yards but allowed five sacks and committed two turnovers. They also allowed 389 rush yards to Dierks.
The Beavers are looking forward to opening conference play at Jessieville and the challenge the Lions bring to the field. “We’ve had a history of struggling early there,” Kehner said. “Catching them at Jessieville is going to be a little bit tougher, which is good for us because we need to figure out how to play good at home and on the road.”
Offensively, the Beavers realize how important the run game will be on Friday. “The running game is going to be pretty important,” Kehner said. “We’ve been working pretty heavy on that. We need to run the ball and just have to hold on to that.” Another area of importance is the offensive line. Kehner feels that the key to winning the game is dominating the line of scrimmage.
One unknown for the Beavers will be starting quarterback Wesley Launius. Launius went out in last Friday’s game against Harmony Grove and suffered a severe sprain on his ankle. Kehner said that Launius is day-to-day and that he will be a game time decision this week against the Lions.
Defensively for the Beavers, they will have to adjust from playing tight against Harmony Grove to spreading out all over the field. They’ll also have to get to the quarterback who can throw as well as run. “They’ve got a very good quarterback,” Kehner said. “He’s a competitor and he leads them. They’re going to go as far as he carries them.” Kehner believes that the Beavers’ defense will have their hands full watching and trying to defend the pass.
Overall the Beavers are excited to get to play conference ball and want to set the tone early. “That’s always a big deal,” Kehner said about winning early conference games. “You hope to set the tone for the year this week. If you start screwing up now and start dropping conference games early it could cost you at the end of the year seeding wise. We want to make sure that we’re kind of building to play our best football at the end of the year and it all starts for real this Friday.”
The Beavers will also look to extend their win streak for the 2020 season. The Beavers dropped their opening game to rivals Malvern, but bounced back week two with a win over Magnet Cove, 35-6, and a win over Harmony Grove, 42-20.