Royals Week 2 Report
Well, it’s safe to say that things didn’t go to plan in last week’s season opening game against W.S. Neal. The Royals fell victim to turnovers and just plain bad luck at times.
On the third play of the game, running back Brock Stout’s forward momentum had clearly been stopped, but no whistle came and the ball was stripped and Neal scored on the play. The next drive, a fumbled snap and bobbled handoff led to another turnover. The Royals defense stood strong and held Neal to a turnover on downs, but the Royals had to punt it back. After holding Neal to a punt, the Royals fumbled the ball once again early in the 2nd quarter. Neal would score their second touchdown towards the end of the 2nd quarter to extend their lead to 13 at the half. The Royals offense got inside the Neal 30, but stalled and had to punt before the half.
The second half opened up with the Royals’ defense forcing a punt, but on their opening 2nd half drive, quarterback Hayden Morris fumbled the ball as he was getting sacked and the Eagles had their second scoop-and-score of the night. Neal would add one more touchdown in the 4th quarter.
There were several bright spots in the game for the Royals. At times, the Royals’ offense looked good running the misdirection plays, which is critical to their offense. Also, Jay’s defense rallied to the ball and was in position most of the time to make the plays.
As Jay turns their attention to Freeport this week and the first home game of the season, the playing field will be more level for the Royals. Freeport will likely try and test the Jay secondary but the Royals hope to be able to cover the Bulldogs’ receivers and put pressure on the quarterback to force them to run the ball.
“I was happy with our defense last week,” stated head coach Brian Watson. “This week, we are concentrating on ball security and our assignments on offense. Freeport is gonna throw the ball alot and we hope to get pressure on the quarterback and tackle in the secondary.”
Freeport’s defense is sticking to what they’ve been doing for years and that is putting 5, sometimes 6 men on the line of scrimmage. In the past, the Royals have had success throwing the ball on the Bulldogs. The question is, can the Royals offensive line give time to the young Morris at quarterback? At times, they were able to against Neal last week. Also key for Jay is eliminating the waisted plays. High and fumbled snaps are expected early on in the season. Hopefully the first game jitters do not linger into week 2.
