On Friday night, Septermber 18, Clinton High School football played in Kansas City off of Meyers Blvd in a scrimmage against 4 Kansas City area teams. The Cardinals showed major fundamental and skill set improvements over last season. As a writer and fan, I am highly optimistic for the Cards football program this season, not only on the field but working together as a football family.
I had a chance to sit down with the Cardinals new head coach Todd Mowrey following the Jamboree. Here's how that went:
OS: Overall, how well do you think your players fundamentals, skill, level, and sportsmanship aligned with the three other teams you saw tonight?
TM: The great thing about tonight was that we were able to get some looks we don't see a lot of. We showed how we can handle adversity by seeing 3 different types of schemes in one evening and adapting to each one very well. We're doing a lot of things right at this point, but we still have several things to clean up. Defensively, we gave a few touchdowns but they were on simple mistakes that will be an easy fix. Offense was fun to watch tonight. I thought we were one of the better teams overall. Each team had their high and low points, but I'm very happy with how we handled every situation.
OS: Do you think you are prepared as a whole and individually to take on the Butler Bears, in the season opener?
TM: I think we're really close. We'll get there by next Friday. First couple games of a new season are always a little tougher because you don't have much film to scout. Butler isn't ever a real flashy team but they are well coached and just do their things. I think it'll be a great game to start the year for both teams.
OS: How would you say your coaching staff worked today during this Jamboree?
TM: I couldn't be any happier with our staff. Everyone knows we're on the same team and we have the same goal. There's not one single tough ego to deal with and everyone is always open to one another's ideas and very supportive of everything we are doing on all sides of the ball. Tonight was no different. Everyone knows their role and contributed accordingly.
OS: Are we lacking any equipment needed to make the season go as smoothly and/or comfortably as possible?
TM: We're currently working on that scenario. We're taking the steps needed to increase our helmet inventory as well as upgrade our shoulder pads. We couldn't do that this year without the generous support of so many great people and businesses within the community. We will be highlighting all of those involved in the upcoming weeks. We have to keep a helmet and shoulder pad rotation every year so our equipment meets the standards.
OS: Have you already selected your team managers? Introduce them to me if so…
TM: We have actually. We have a couple returners with us again in Gracie Lankford and Taryn Gilbert. A new face this year is Abbie Smith. They do a great job keeping up with the things we need and getting set up for practice. We also added incoming freshman Aidan Jones who will be helping us with the technical side of things like filming games, uploading film, and things along those lines.
OS: Tell me about how summer weights and practice helped prepare you for this Jamboree and upcoming season…
TM: Summer weights is just a small piece of the puzzle. The good thing is it gets all of our players in the weight room as a team. Coach Monaco does a great job making sure we're getting what we need, when we need it. He is constantly evaluating each athletes progress and adjusting to meet the needs of their individual results. It's great to have someone in the weight room that is very passionate about it. In the end, it helps everyone.
OS: Good luck this season, Coach!
