To say it was a frustrating week for Sumrall would be an understatement, as the Bobcats were handed a 38-7 loss to Bay High last week.
Sumrall mustered just 129 yards of offense, with Jordan Ware scoring the team’s lone touchdown.
“We just weren’t ready to play,” Sumrall coach Shannon White said. “We thought we coached them well last week, but there was no evidence of that. We thought they would prepare themselves to play well, and they did not. That’s not who we are. We couldn’t play any worse. You have to learn from it and move on from it. We are much better than that.
“At times, our defense played well, but that was about it.”
This week, the Bobcats face Seminary (1-1), who picked up their win of the season in a 19-16 victory over Collins.
“Offensively, they can run the ball and the passed ball well,” White said. “They had close to 400 yards of offense against Forrest County AHS but got beat. Their linemen block better and have a downhill running back. They attack you in a lot of different ways in the passing game. They have deep balls, screen plays, quick games, and spread game. There is not a passing play they don’t execute in our offense. And they hammer you pretty good defensively with the running back and offensive line, which is probably their biggest improvement.
“Defensively, their defensive front with their two tackles and defensive ends are a handful. They are starting to look the way Seminary normally does even though it’s a different offense than in years past. The kids play hard and are starting to get their identity back. They are much improved compared to last year. It’s going to be a challenge for this week.”
For White, the main focus this week is ensuring that his young team can better protect the football after giving up five turnovers.
“You got to correct mistakes,” White said. “I don’t think you change anything. I don’t think the plays we called were bad plays. I don’t think we are practicing badly. I think we’ve got an inexperienced team that’s going to make mistakes. We made mistakes last week that you can’t make. Our kids are playing hard. We just aren’t playing very well.
“We had five turnovers, and that has nothing to do with experience. Anybody can hang on to the football. That’s the thing we did to cause the game to snowball on us. We’re just trying to improve on what we are doing and get better.”
Sumrall will stay on the road to face Seminary with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
