Bears looking to overcome last week’s lull
DEKALB, Texas—DeKalb has a chance to end its slight skid, which includes a humbling loss to New Diana in the district opener and Bears' Homecoming game last week.
DeKalb has lost two in a row, by four to LindenKildare and 60-28 to New Diana in the District 7-3A, Div. II opener. It was a fluke game for a team that has been among the area's best defenses this season and beyond.
“Last Friday we didn't tackle very well and didn't run to the football well, defensively,” Bears coach Eddy May said. “We've really worked hard this week because that's something that we've got to get better with really quickly. Ore City's got some kids who can go; they've got a receiver who can run, a quick quarterback and a real decent running back. We've to tackle well and be in the right spots to tackle.
“We've looked pretty good defensively up until Friday night, and the reason why I can't put my finger on it. But there was a letdown, so we went right back to work to try to correct that.”
DeKalb (2-3, 0-1) travels to Ore City (1-4, 0-1) this week for the second week of league play. The Rebels got throttled by Paul Pewitt, 70-43, last week.
Junior linebacker D.J. Gray leads the team with 45 tackles, Daniel Hendricks has 39 stops. and Alex Clark and Jaquan Jackson have 33 apiece.
“We count on our linebackers to be pretty good week in and week out,” May said. “D.J. Gray has done a good job for us, running to the football and tackling. Dalton Hanna does well for us, setting the edge, and up front Deonta Brown, who plays nose(guard) for us is holding down the middle.
“If we're going to be good defensively, we rely on those three guys to play well.”
Jackson, a junior, hardly ever leaves the field. He has caught 15 balls for 257 yards and six touchdowns. Gray had eight catches for 142 yards and a score, and Kentavius Williams leads the Bears' rushing with 112 carries for 612 yards and three scores.
Tristen Jamison, a sophomore, has connected on 28 of 59 passes for 479 yards, seven TDs and six interceptions.
“We count on Jackson to do everything for us, as far as every team (offense, defense and special teams) we have out there on the field,” May said. “And he does a good job. We try to find ways to get him off the field so he can get some rest, and he's playing well for us.
“Jamison has played well. He also plays cornerback.”
Williams had two scores last week in the fourth quarter against New Diana.
“He's got a lot of yardage for us; what we've got to get him to do is put it in the end zone,” May said. “Against Linden-Kildare he had 328 yards but only scored one time. Our red zone offense has got to get better; we get down there quite often but need to get better of sticking it in the end zone.”
May knows how tough the district schedule will be and that the mistakes the Bears made last week can be corrected.
“We've got to get back on track, defensively, be able to tackle in space, and play hard every time the ball's snapped,” May said. “Our district is full of kids who can run and get to the edge, if you let them.
“Offensively, we've got to hang onto the football and score when we get into the red zone. We usually shoot ourselves in the foot, as far as something that goes wrong once we're down there. We've got to quit making the mistakes in the red zone that keep us from putting the ball in the end zone.”