Bringing the wood

Do you know what it takes to get the job done? Just what the title says. You’ve got to bring your best and in a manner of speaking, you’ve got to lay the wood. If you get the chance to talk to Brandon Couch before we leave Saturday morning, ask him for the specifics.

You’ve got bring your best to beat good teams. The defense always brings it and last week the offense got it done and stepped up to play at the defense’s level. There weren’t many daunting plays but winning close games is about making big plays and when it came time to do so, we executed.

Offensively, we scored from 51 and 60 yards out with a pass to Sophomore Nate Richter and the game clinching run from 60 by freshman Calvin Bueltel. Heading into the game, Coach Englehart stressed the ground game; in past games we have struggled with opening holes for tailbacks to run through. Bluffton was not prepared for a hungry and determined offensive line.

Defensively, we were strong, just as we have been in past games this year. The defense hasn’t allowed teams to feel comfortable at any time, even when our opponents are at their home field. Against the Beavers, the defense would bend at times, but would not break down in the face of adversity. A number of times, Bluffton threatened to score and the defense shut them down. This is never an easy task, but when you’re asked to do this over four downs, it’s tough.

Special teams are always X-factors when games get close. The Beavers missed two point-after-touchdowns because their kicker suffered a devastating injury during the opening kickoff. It goes to show that every play deserves respect because it could be your last. Furthermore, it’s special teams that give a team an edge; for us last Saturday, they gave us our first touchdown.

To win a game, it takes everyone on a team to pull for victory; everyone has to be in the game and everyone has to want to win in the same way. It’s hard to be better than others who want it just as bad, but that’s why football is a sport for gladiators. I’ve been saying it week in and week out; your support is a big part of why we will ourselves to win. For those of you who can make it, you would be doing us a tremendous favor by supporting us at Franklin College on Saturday. It’s a little bit of a drive, but I think that if everyone in our little Rose community pulls it together for a victory, we can have one of the most meaningful wins of this season.