Dayton coach talks about the Elgin game

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Bronco boss dissects win over Elgin

N.L. Hines forces a fumble by Leo Castro (84) who would make the recovery, but it was plays such as this that really shut down the Elgin Wildcat offense during the second half.

By MIKE GEORGE

Updated: 11.24.08

The Dayton Broncos advanced to the semi-regional round of the state playoffs last Friday night with a convincing 42-14 win over the Elgin Wildcats, but it didn’t start out that way.

“The game started out difficult,†said head football coach Jerry Stewart. “We were playing pretty good defense even though they slipped off on us with a formation or so, but we felt good about it – we just weren’t clicking offensively yet. We punted the ball more, earlier than we had and when that happens, you have to play good defense.â€

What the Broncos basically did was to allow some big plays during the first half, only to completely shut down the Wildcat offense in the second half. Elgin got one first down off a quarterback scramble and two more by penalty, but that was it, offensively for the Wildcats in the second half.

“We got caught down in the endzone area one time and stopped them, but then we turned around and let them return a punt on us that shouldn’t have happened and then let them break two runs, but after that, they didn’t have but 21 yards in the second half of total offense and our kids played really well.â€

A sign seen by coaches in the stands that night brought some additional comments by Stewart.

“This is the kind of game I was telling you before would drive you to picking flowers on the side of the road,†said the Bronco boss. “Someone even had a sign up last night: ‘how about them flowers, coach’ and I might be tempted to pick them one more time in my life – just stop that truck and pick some flowers. It takes a lot for me to be picking a flower – I don’t have that flower temperament so it’s really going to have to be something.â€

Stewart then went on to describe game day and the good feeling he had about the second-round game.

“Friday was a good day,†explained the coach. “The day had been going good for us and usually that’s an omen for me that we have a good day on that Friday. Then, we have a good demeanor going into that night, but then you have to remember that they came to play to. Like I’ve said before, this is playoff football and everybody’s got a goal they want to achieve out there. I give credit to the Elgin kids – they tried hard. We got after it and started performing offensively with A.J. (Dugat) and Cody (Green) kind of putting it on their backs, which they’re supposed to do and they did a great job. Our offensive line started doing a great job and we ran the ball, only throwing it 18 times in the game.

The coach explained something new that he’s never brought out before. Stewart gets a “feel†at times about the game and it’s something he’s always done. The revelation evolved while discussing some innermost thoughts about the game.

“It was a great crowd last night,†began Stewart. “You always have time to reflect as a head coach when you’ve been one for as long as I have. You stand down in the endzone, look down at the other goalpost and you reflect as to what’s going on. I’ve got a vision I look at before every game and if you’ve ever seen me leaning against the goalpost, I’ve got a vision that I’ve always seen. I’ve never told anybody what that vision was, but I’ve got a vision I look at that’s down there staring at me and then I always know I’m ready to roll. I see that vision every year at every game, and this is part of something even coaches need. I mean we’re always trying to motivate the kids, but there are times when you’ve got to motivate yourself and this is just part of it.â€

All that aside, to be blunt, for most of the first half the Broncos pretty much stunk things up in not playing the way they were capable. This, of course, did not go unnoticed by the Bronco coaching staff and Stewart dealt with it at halftime.

“We made a couple of adjustments at halftime,†said Stewart. “They were running an unbalanced set at us that we weren’t filling so we changed some things and moved some calls, and that was game, set, match – our kids started just tearing them off the ball, then. I tell our kids every time heading into a football game that you’re going to have some adversity. You’ve just got to fight through it. If you think it’s going to be smooth sailing through the playoffs, well that’s not happening. There’s going to be some adversity, and there was at first. We had to settle in on stopping them and we did.â€

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