by Malcolm Butler
The grind. It’s real.
Every August football teams across the country experience it.
When the excitement and adrenaline of starting official team workouts turns into the physical and mental fatigue of practice after practice, especially in the Louisiana humidity and heat.
Cedar Creek head coach Jacob Angevine saw his Cougars squad experience that grind early in the second week of workouts, but the first year’s sideline boss said he was proud of how they fought back.
“We took a step back (Tuesday),” said Angevine. “It was the hottest day we have had so far. We had a little rain to start practice that cooled things off, and I even told the guys that this was beautiful, beautiful weather.
“I ate those words. The sun came out from behind the trees and the clouds went away and it was hot. We took a step back. But we rebounded well Wednesday and I’ve been very proud of the way we bounced back. Our practice Wednesday was the best one we had all fall.”
The Cougars have been practicing without one of their team leaders in senior two-way start Blake Robinson, who has been watching (and helping) from the sideline in street clothes to a nagging quad injury.
“I think Blake has about one more week where he is off,” said Angevine about the program’s single season sack record holder. “He is starting to progress a little more in PT. I told him I would rather have him ready for week one then a scrimmage or jamboree where we may get quality reps, but it doesn’t really mean anything on the win-loss record.
“I’d rather have him for week one. I’d love to have him for the jamboree just to ease him back into it, but I’m not going to rush him. I don’t know how much he may play in the scrimmage. He will be big for us on both sides of the ball this year.”
Robinson, who will play both defensive end and tight end for the Cougars, originally hurt the quad in the spring. Then this summer he tweaked it again during a football camp.
“That’s when we started taking major precautions with him,” said Angevine. “He started going to PT, and had a small hiccup with PT. It’s just been a work in progress. He understands. He would rather be ready for week one.”
Cedar Creek’s first “real” test will come August 22 when the Cougars travel to Lakeside for a 6:30 p.m. scrimmage. The Cougars will then face D’Arbonne Woods in the jamboree on August 30.
Angevine said his biggest concern in fall camp and leading into the season is on the offensive side of the football, where the Cougars have their fourth starting QB in as many seasons and their third OC in four years.
“We knew there would be some growing pains on offense,” said Angevine. “It’s a little harder to jell. These guys, especially the seniors, have had three different offenses now in four years. It’s challenging to understand the different terminologies. What we called a scoop last year means something different year on the offensive line.
“The passing game and learning different routes … the route tree as a whole is a learning curve. Last week we took a couple of days to solely focus on offense. We didn’t do a whole lot on defense (those days). Our defensive guys ran a 4-3 when Coach (Mark) Ware was here and when they had me in junior high. So they understand the concept of a 4-3. But with the new offense, it takes a little bit longer.”
