By Mike Moore
Staff Writer
Jackson — Two teams set to collide with plenty of desperation on both sidelines.
And even if it’s for entirely different reasons, who cares?
Lumen Christi football coach Herb Brogran reiterated his stance that, at five wins, his team is likely in the 2016 playoffs.
“I’m just not sure how we wouldn’t be,” he said.
But as Brogan and the Titans prep for Friday night’s home tilt with Pennfield, there’s no complacency wearing green and gold.
“We still have a lot to pay for,” Brogan said simply. ““Obviously, we want the sixth win to guarantee a spot, but what’s more, is now we’re playing for a chance to host a playoff game, or two. If we can find a way to win out, I think there’s a great chance we can play at home in the playoffs.”
If that’s going to happen, Lumen needs to get past Pennfield first.
And speaking of desperation, the Panthers were 2-3 just two weeks ago and facing certain playoff elimination.
Two weeks later they are 4-3 and riding a wave of confidence into Jackson Friday night knowing they need two more wins to get in for sure.
“And we have to be ready for that,” Brogan said.
Pennfield runs the wing-T, and Brogan called it one of the toughest to defend.
“It’s the best pure wing-T we will see,” he said. “Coldwater is more power, where Pennfield is all about deception. They’re so good at hiding the ball and keeping you off balance as to who has it.”
While the Panthers’ style of offense also holds the ball for long stretches of time, the team is still averaging nearly 26 points per game.
“You have to be very disciplined in your assignment,” Brogan said when asked how he plans to defend it. “If you show a pattern in what you’re doing, they can exploit it. It comes down to every guy sticking with their responsibility. We can’t guess and we can’t chase ghosts. Guys have to stick to their assignments.”
Lumen is coming off one of its most complete games of the season in last Friday’s 49-14 win at Western.
The team rushed the ball well, threw the best it had all year and played its best defensive game, Brogan said.
Now the goal is to duplicate that.
“We want to run the ball, as we always do,” Brogan said. “And if we can run successfully, we can have success throwing as well.”
The Titans are 6-0 all-time against Pennfield.
Mike Moore is a play-by-play commentator and Sports Writer for JTV Sports. You can reach him at mjm12@albion.edu. He’s also the author of ‘Love, Defined; A Dedication to the Love, Sacrifice, and Magic of Motherhood.’
Love, Defined is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Tate Publishing or by contacting Mike directly.
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