Dawgs head to South Austin in final non-district tune up

By David Morris

Cove Leader-Press

The Copperas Cove Bulldawgs (1-2) will head south for Austin to face the Del Valle Cardinals (2-1) on Friday night for their final tune-up game before district play begins.  

This trip is different from last week’s road game as they travel without third year head coach Tony Johnson who is currently out on administrative leave and pending an investigation.  

“We can not discuss personnel matters,” Copperas Cove ISD director of Communication Kurtis Quillin said when asked about Johnsons rumored absence, Tuesday evening. 

Sitting in for Johnson during the weekly Coffee with a Coach program on Wednesday afternoon, were Offensive coordinator Jared Shaw and Defensive Coordinator Mike Evans.

Coming off their lowest point total of the year, the Dawgs will look to rebound against the Cardinals and return to the average of 40+ points per game they posted against Ellison and Leander.

“We had 93 points throughout the first two weeks,” said Shaw. “So, I was a little disappointed with the turnout that we had last Friday, at the end of the day. Just wasn’t the best. Wasn’t the best from us as coaches, it wasn’t the best for the kids as well. And so, I take full responsibility for that.”

The are coached by Todd Patmon who returns 28 of 32 lettermen from a year ago, including his son Coleman Patmon who has committed to Division I on defense.  The Cardinals are a run heavy team, throwing the ball less than 40 times in three games.  

“That’s not very much. No, they really rely on the running. What makes them unique is they do it out of what we call 10 personnel,” said Evans. “So, you see a lot of two by two and three by one, they lighten your box, but they also pull quite a bit.”

Taking most of the touches in the backfield is senior running back Joel Jordan. Taking the snaps at quarterback is Alex Marcantoni and his top receivers are James Boyd. On defense, the Cardinals have limited their opponents to 87 points with the most points surrendered coming against Schertz Clemens where the Cardinals lost 37-13.

“We have to get off the bus with the mindset that we’ve got to start right now, the Bulldawg tempo starts right now,” said Evans. “I think the biggest thing is execution. They know the assignment. We just have to go out and execute the game plan, execute our assignments every single play, and then finish. One of our DAWG acronyms is GRIT, you know? And we’ve got to do a better job of finishing plays.”