by Malcolm Butler
Cedar Creek head coach William Parkerson saw some major improvements from his defense during last week’s 16-14 loss to Delhi Charter.
This week he hopes to see the same from the offensive side.
The Cougars (0-2) host Loyola Prep (1-0) at 7 p.m. tonight at Cougar Field at Origin Bank Stadium. The contest can be heard on 99.3 FM with Ray Creasy and Ben Haddox providing the call of the game.
Creek’s defense was stellar last week, allowing less than 100 total yards of offense and only five first downs. That unit also scored both touchdowns in the game.
However, one long TD run early and a kickoff return for a TD, plus the game-deciding safety, proved to be the difference in the loss.
“I saw the effort improve,” said Parkerson. “I saw the physicality improve. Outside of the one big run, I thought the gap integrity was really good all night. We made a lot of strides.”
The Cougars offense is still searching for its fist touchdown of any kind in 2024. Through two preseason “games” and two regular season contests, Cedar Creek hasn’t been able to cross the goal line with its offense.
However, Parkerson continues to remain positive with the young group.
“I know we didn’t put it in the endzone, but it was by far our best offensive effort,” said Parkerson. “We got inside the 10 four times. Scored once but it was called back for a penalty. It was just lack of execution inside the 10 yard line that got us.
“We got a couple of penalties that backed us up. Certain times we blocked it right, but the running backs ran it wrong. And other times the running backs ran it right, and we blocked it wrong. We have to do a better job coaching so the kids know exactly what we need to do and we can execute at a higher rate.”
Parkerson had hoped running back Wyatt Gremillion may return to the field last week since suffering a soft tissue injury early in fall camp. However, Gremillion wasn’t able to and Parkerson said they would see how he feels pregame.
Loyola Prep is coming off its season-opening 28-6 win over Logansport last Friday at home. And according to Parkerson, the Flyers are a well-coached, well-balanced squad.
“They are a good football team,” said Parkerson. “Offensively, they will be spread. They mix the run and the pass. They are a little more run than pass, but they do a good job of mixing things up. They are a really good screen team. We are going to have to play with our best effort.
“Defensively, everything starts with the 3-4 which we haven’t faced this year. They are super sound, and they are really good at what they do.”
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