Tiger secondary improves during Linden 7-on-7

Published 7:47 pm Friday, July 24, 2009

Demopolis traveled to Linden Thursday afternoon, dropping two of its four contests in a 7-on-7 competition.

Demopolis opened its afternoon by losing to Linden. The Tigers then defeated Thomasville and Leroy in consecutive games before losing to Millry to wrap up the evening.

“We had some breakdowns on coverage obviously,” Causey said of the outing. Despite the struggles, the third-year DHS coach said the team defensive unit had a much stronger day than it did in Leroy two weeks ago.

Email newsletter signup

“It was a lot better because we’re finally understanding where we’ve got to be on defense,” Causey said. “I thought defensively we did a lot better (Thursday). I think we left from down there having a lot better of an idea of what we want to do with our coverages.”

In addition to developing an understanding of coverages, Causey’s team was able to get reps for a number of players.

“We played a lot of people,” Causey said. “We played eight safeties. We played about eight corners. We played six outside linebackers and two middle linebackers.”

One of the biggest improvements the team saw was in the play of middle linebacker Michael Davis. Working to replace the graduated Greg Irvin, Davis struggled in Leroy.

“It was 100 percent better,” Causey said of Davis’ play. “I think now he understands where he’s got to be in each coverage and that he’s got to relay it all. I thought he did a much better job of that (Thursday).”

The Tigers’ biggest struggle Thursday came on the offensive side of the ball. Sophomore Logan Holley was left to run the quarterback spot in the absence of starter Ben Pettus.

“I thought Logan did a great job. I was disappointed in our receivers. We had a lot of dropped balls,” Causey said. “I thought Logan was really, really tight early. But I was really proud of what he did (Thursday).”

Causey said Holley was consistent in throwing catchable passes.

“Our senior receivers were the ones dropping the ball,” Causey said. “It was a lack of concentration.”

Demopolis will play its final competition of the summer Monday at 10 a.m. when Sweet Water visits Memorial Stadium.

“It’s the same thing you’re always trying to do,” Causey said of the team’s focus for Monday, “making sure you’re getting a little more honed in on what you’re trying to do and getting as many guys as you can in there.”