By Thomas Grant Jr.
The football season is broken up into three parts by head coach Rusty Charpia.
There’s the preseason which serves to get the players acclimated to the conditions and updated on the latest schemes. It’s followed by the non-region schedule where teams look to test themselves against formidable competition and see where they measure when it comes to the next part.
That “next part” is the most important – region play. It’s the month of play that determines the team’s path to a run at a state championship.
As the Bearcats open Region 5-3A play against Orangeburg-Wilkinso (0-4), Charpia is not too disappointed with having a 3-2 record after snapping a two-game losing streak last week against previously undefeated Hampton County.
“Would we be better off if we were 5-0 than 3-2?” he said. “Maybe not because those close losses, made our kids kind of refocus and realize, you know, we got a lot of work to do. You can’t just show up and win. Practice is very important and doing things the right way. I think the last game, beating a pretty good Hampton team and winning in the fourth quarter, that has to give us a little confidence.”
Going into region play, Charpia said his team wants to make it difficult for teams to prepare for them. This is done by practicing misdirected offenses, compressed formations and getting all his players familiar with every position on the field.
This is especially true with the quarterbacks where Charpia plans to use all three on the roster. Shrine Bowl selection Will Taylor can also play wide receiver, Brogan Sox has a higher completion rate and transfer My’son Jones is in his first year.
Brookland-Cayce will continue to rely upon its running game. Deshaun Washington is coming off a four-touchdown game against Hampton County. Defensively, Charpia said practices are spent working on the fundamentals.
“So that’s probably the number one thing we work on is the idea of getting lined up and running to the ball and tackling,” Charpia said. “You can even get away with schemes that aren’t great if your players will play hard.”
Brookland-Cayce is 3-0 all-time against Orangeburg-Wilkinson.
Palmetto State Sports Network will carry the Brookland-Cayce/Orangeburg-Wilkinson game. The app is now available for download or visit the website https://network1sports.com/station/pssn
(Photo by GoFlashwin.com)
Brookland-Cayce quarterback Brogan Sox
