September 21, 2002  WLIL Saturday
High School Football Report

Interview with coach Jeff Harig  concerning the Loudon vs. Austin-East

Russell Mayes:  Well for the Redskins last night, Coach Harig, it was certainly not a good night as they traveled to Austin-East and lost to the Roadrunners by the final score of 50-0.  We were talking just a moment ago, and it seemed like Austin East just basically controlled that game from the time the Redskins got off the bus.

Jeff Harig:  They did.  Each football team each year goes through nights where their guys aren't ready to play; and you would like to hope those night come against teams of lesser quality than Austin-East.  At our best case scenario, we may have played our best game and still may have lost.  But to go out and not be ready to play and to not execute fundamentals against a team like that . . .um, its going to be a long night for you.  

Mayes:  Do you think its intimidation with a team like Austin East, the reputation that some teams just kind of have a hard time getting ready for a team like the Roadrunners?

Harig:  Well, its going through a cycle.  We beat them four times in a row, and they've gotten us the last three.  And ever since Coach Stevens has taken over the program, he's had them ready to play for us; and there was a quote in this morning's paper from him; and, basically, he said "You can defend speed," which we can defend speed, "but you have a hard time defending speed when the team executes on each side of the ball."  And the executed last night.  This is by far the best game they've played.  They didn't look very good the first two games; and I'd like to think a little bit the outcome was how well they played and how well they executed.  

Mayes:  Well they did.  It didn't seem like they missed a bit early in the ball game when they're able to come right out of the box and put some good drives together; and it was basically on the ground.  And trying defend Austin-East -- I know that was the thing you had to be scared of  was Austin East being able to break that containment and get to the outside.  

Harig:  And that was a big focus for us this week.  Its tough to simulate in practice the speed you're going to see in the game.  I think we had a hard time adjusting early.  A lot of the basic things that we had talked about doing all week, we just didn't execute.  And that was my fault as a coach by not stressing those little things it was going to take to compete against a team like Austin-East.

Mayes:  Right out of the shoots Austin-East goes on an eight-play, seventy-three yard drive.  Then on the Redskins first drive. . . get the ball, have a fourth-down-and-one, and to go for it on the fourth down, kind of an idea of nothing to lose right there.  With the ease that Austin-East moved down the field on that first drive, I know you felt like you needed to go for it right there because you needed to get something going offensively.

Harig:  Um yeah.  Teams like Austin-East -- they're going to score on you, if they score sixty-five yards or forty-five yards.  So, I decided to make something happen.  It was fourth and one.  We didn't have the best play call;  maybe we didn't have the personnel in the game.  That's, once again, our fault as coaches.  Maybe we should have taken the time out to contemplate the decision.  If it works out --  yeah,  good job; if it doesn't, then you start second guessing what you did.  So its one of those things we decided to try, [and] maybe instill some confidence, that we had some confidence in our kids.  That kind of backfired on us.

Mayes:  Well, its a move where you're just trying to turn the tables as far as momentum goes. 

Harig:  That's right.  And they had the momentum, and we kind of wanted to at least get a first down and maybe keep the ball for a first down or two; and if we have to punt, why then we will.  But it was a fourth-and-one, and it was a spur-of-the-moment decision that didn't quite work out for us. 

Mayes:  Well, in talking about this Austin-East defense, [its] touted as probably one of the top defenses in the state. [The AE defense is] better than last year, a lot of people feel like.  And it seems like everything the Redskins did offensively, Austin-East had three people right there to make the tackle.

Harig: We did.  We talked about that all week.  Sealing people off, getting people to the corner and maybe having a chance  We didn't execute our fundamentals on sealing people off, and I tell you what though, they get to the football.  And what stuck out last night was how disciplined they were in the secondary.  Even when we did try the play action pass, it seemed like they had our guys covered.  And Coach (I couldn't make out the name from the tape), who is their defensive coordinator, does a great job running their defense.

Mayes:  And it seems like for the Redskins, [there was] not a lot of offense in the ball game; and that's tough.  If you're getting some things going offensively and kind of get into a shoot out, that's some of the things we've seen in the past against Loudon; but that Austin-East defense is incredibly tough, and run or pass, they had an answer every time.  

Harig:  That's correct.  And with their defense, you can't go in thinking you're going to be in a shootout because they ain't gonna have it.  Ultimately, each week we grade our defense, and we have a sheet where we compete against the other team's defense.   If we shut out their team, more than likely, we're going to win.  So we really set it up as a competition between our defense and their defense; and, obviously, their defense won last night.

Mayes:  Big plays had some factors in the ballgame, although, you know, you look at the score sheet.  It was a one-yard run, a two-yard run for touchdowns.  Austin-East was able to put some drives together in that ball game, and that's kind of different from what they've been doing in the past.  They have not been really able to sustain much offensively.

Harig:  And it comes back to Coach Stevens' quote.  You know -- execution.  By far, their linemen played the best, their quarterback -- it was kind of a coming out party for him.  He had had some trouble connecting on receivers.  They hit us with some screens; and when you're trying to be aggressive and get after a team, and they start dinking you with screens, its tough especially when they're putting speed against a lineman.  Our lineman, you know we have a spyguy who was kind of in charge of sticking around the line of scrimmage and watching out for any screens.  He's a step away, but that step is a big step when its a 240 lb. lineman versus a 180 lb. little scatback.

Mayes:  And it was awfully tough.  Austin-East would bring that man in motion just about all night long; and they would throw that pass to him out on a flat almost on a full run.  To have that head of steam, that's hard to stop.

Harig:  And its very hard to stop especially when you can't simulate that during the week, the true speed.  You could see it on film, but they were playing two teams that had speed -- Chattanooga Howard and Fulton.  And you watch it, and you think "That's not so great.  There's nothing great about that."  But actually defending it for yourself -- the speed of the game, you can't gauge by watching a film.    

Mayes:  Looking back at Austin-East, do you feel like you would rather have Phillips throw the ball than run it?  Because it seemed like that when the Redskins could get some pressure on him, he would be able to slip through.  And the times that he did throw it, he did have some good throws throughout the night, but there were other times when he was way off his receivers.

Harig:  He was, and our plan going in was to force him to throw it.  But we really talked a lot about maintaining our rush lanes; and he's real good about finding a weakness in your defense.  If a guy gets out of his lane, he's going to step into that hole.  What we found on film this morning was we had some guys out of position, and that's my fault as a coach and our fault as a staff for not getting our guys going to the right spot.  

Mayes:  I know half-time certainly had to be tough, trying to keep the team up and get them ready for the second half.  But the Redskins came out, had a good third quarter.  It was a scoreless third quarter.  

Harig:  We've not been in that position before.  This is the worse beating we've taken in the eight years I've been at Loudon.  As a person, you experience setbacks in life, and you have two choices:  you either dwell on them and use them as an excuse, or you work to get better and go out and redeem yourself.  We talked a lot about coming out and competing and playing from whistle to whistle.  For the most part, I think we did that in the second half.  But its very difficult to get ready to play when you're down 35-0.  

Mayes:  On a positive note, Adam Paramo was filling in at fullback and he had some very good runs for the Redskins in the second half.

Harig:  Yeah, we've lost two fullbacks, and he filled in there and did a fine job.  He has a ways to go working on other aspects of being a fullback, fundamental aspects.  But he stepped in there and did a fine job for the little practice that he did have.  

Mayes:  And then the Roadrunners there in the fourth quarter pick up a couple of scores, and then the two-point conversion on the final touchdown, that was awful tough.  How does that feel when something like that happens?  And it may have been one of those situations where the players were wanting to score fifty and that was probably a second-string holder in the game.  It looked like he just picked it up and ran for it.

Harig:  You got two choices:  you can go over there and challenge him to a fist fight or something like that or, hey, a football game is a game; and you've got to play the game no matter what the score is.  Those kids want to compete and score just as bad as the first string kids do.  It would have been great for them to go ahead and go for the extra point, and I would like to think that wasn't planned two-point conversion.  But we've got to defend that football play no matter what the score is.  We didn't, and they scored.  So, I'm not going to go over there and show myself, challenge him, or anything like that.  I thought we should have defended the play no matter what the score is, and that's just how we're going to approach it.  

Mayes:  Well, that's always tough, and I know there are always some hurt feelings when something like that happens for whatever reason.  But, nonetheless, Austin-East is a team that defending state champions, and they certainly looked the part last night and they get a lot of credit for the way that they played.  And they certainly were ready and I think, in looking at the paper today, they hold it personal that they got beat by Fulton, and it looks like their mission is to get back and get deep in the playoffs and have another chance.  And the way they looked last night, it looks like they may be able to make another trip to Murfreesboro.  

Harig:  Talking to Coach Stevens in the pre-game, that's all he wanted to talk about was that Fulton game.  He's using that as a motivation to get his kids going, and I'm sure they'll get a chance to play them again.  

Mayes:  How do you get your team to bounce back after a loss like that?    I know it certainly had to be disappointing.  Its one where you see some things on the film where you can improve.  How do you pick up the pieces after last night?

Harig:  Well, we have no choice.  We've got two very tough games ahead of us, teams with speed that pose problems for us.  We've just got to use it as a learning experience, and, really, its a test of our character and a test of what kind of people we are.  Are you going to lay down and not compete again, or are you going to step up and take some pride in yourself and what your doing and in the city of Loudon and your team?  We'll find out Monday what kind of character we really have.  I'm not going to go in there screaming at them or ranting and raving.   That's not going to get anything done.  Its a whole lot of actions that have to take place, and words aren't going to get it.  So we're going to see what we're about this week.

Mayes:  Next week its Sweetwater, and I know it has to be good.  You're going to face a very good Sweetwater team.  But this is a very emotional rivalry game, so I know the kids are going to be looking forward to having that opportunity on Friday night to play Sweetwater.  

Harig:  That's right, and they're a great team.  I guess a good bit of news, and its not good for them.  They lost that LaBrock kid to a broken foot last night.  So that might give us a chance to match up a little better.  They'll be with one less skilled player, but I'm sure Coach Rhodes has a backup waiting in the wings to be able to step up and show what he's got.  

Mayes:  Well, I'm really looking forward to Friday night.  I think this is going to be a real good match up and a lot of fun; and these Sweetwater games are always fun and that's one of the things I've learned is that Sweetwater-and-Loudon is a big rivalry game.

Harig:  It is, and we've gotten the last four or five from them.  So I'm sure they're going to be ready to avenge some of those losses.  And we'll have to be ready to play four quarters, cause I know Coach Rhodes owes us some points.  We put fifty on them a few years, and I'm sure he'll have his kids ready to play. 

Mayes:  Well Coach Harig, thank you so much for spending some time with us here on this Saturday morning and best of luck against Sweetwater next week, and we'll let you get back to your preparation. 

Harig:  Well thank you and thank you for all you do.

Mayes:  Ok.  Thanks a lot Coach Harig.

Harig:  Bye bye.

Mayes:  That's Coach Jeff Harig of the Loudon Redskins joining us here on the Saturday Morning High School Football Report.  We certainly appreciate his time, and we'll be back with more in just a moment.