Cardinals football finally got into the win column with a 21-7 victory over Holden in front of a raucous home crowd last Friday night.
Following the win, I caught up with Clinton head coach Todd Mowery.
OS: What turned this game around for the Cardinals as a practice to last weeks detrimental loss against Odessa?
TM: We mainly spent a lot of time focusing on our mistakes and attitudes this week in practice. Last weeks Odessa game was a stern reminder of where the program used to be in terms of attitudes that we never want to revert back to again. It was good to see a complete 180 this week.
OS: How was the team attitude as opposed to last week?
TM: We were off and on this week. I honestly wasn't sure what mentality we were going to bring with us against Holden. We've worked extremely hard to change our mindsets since day one back in June. The boys exceeded expectations Friday night and showed us what we all knew they were capable of. It's just believing in themselves because they've always been counted out.
OS: What did you do to correct these issues during practice from last Friday?
TM: Repetition and extreme focus on the task at hand. Sometimes it's really easy to just go through the motions in order to get through practice. In that aspect, nothing really changes. So it was just a matter of making it a priority for everyone to do their job every play and not worry about anything else
OS: Tell me about your offensive line.
TM: We have been pretty happy with the offensive line. Of course there's always room for improvement but they are playing good football and giving Lafarge adequate time to throw the ball when we need it. It's really nice to see some size up front this year.
OS: Tell me about your defensive line.
TM: This defensive line needs all kinds of credit. They have honestly been the heart of a lot of our success. This week was their first big test. Holden has a great offensive line with a ton of size. We were excited to see how we would stack up against them and that didn't disappoint. Our d line was dominant the entire game. I'm not sure the numbers yet but I know we held them to their lowest offensive numbers of the season and it wasn't even a question.
OS: Brag on some players that you feel helped in this win for Clinton.
TM: I never really like to single any one player out because it takes all of us to win, especially in games like that. Everyone knew we let a win get away from us in week one and they were adamant in that not happening again. The entire team played an outstanding and solid 4 quarter game. We asked them to give everything they got and they all stepped up
OS: You had a huge home crowd, do you think that aided in the energy change?
TM: So I get pretty locked in to the games and honestly didn't realize how big the crowd was until after the last snap. But outside of that, playing at home always has it's advantages and the energy that was brought by the community was simply amazing and one of the reasons why I love Clinton. I told my wife later that night that I wish I would have had a chance to just turn around and take it all in for a minute. Everyone in the stadium made the walk back to the locker room after the win a very memorable one.
OS: Additional comments?
TM: It was just an outstanding night not only for football, but for the community as well. Successful Friday night's just have a way of bringing people together. By starting with having the youth teams lead us out of the tunnel, to watching our boys perform at a level we've all been waiting to see, to the locker room celebration after the game, Clinton Football took a huge step forward. We still have a long way to go to get where we want to be, but everyone is buying in to help get us there. Our seniors deserve the absolute best this year, and I'm so grateful they were able to get a monkey off their back
