No matter whether the District 16-3A matchup between the Key West High and St. Brendan football teams is contested on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m., as it initially has been scheduled, or on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 3:30 p.m., if the winds from Hurricane Helene are too great for the buses to travel, the game must be played as the FHSAA playoff bracket is dependent on the outcome.
“St. Brendan picked Saturday as an alternate because of the ref issue, we offered to play here but that didn’t go over too well,” said Key West coach Johnny Hughes.
No matter when the game is played, the Conchs coach furthered this is the point of the season Key West has been focused on as three of the next four contests are against District 16-3A rivals.
“It’s something we have been preaching the whole time and have reminded them that some in the state media picked us to finish dead last in the district,” said Hughes. “So they have a little chip on their shoulder concerning that.”
The coach added that he believes the Conchs match up well with the Sabres and if Key West plays physical then St. Brendan will have a tough time stopping the offense.
“It’s just a matter of taking care of us, as I always say, and doing the right thing,” said Hughes.
“We can’t beat ourselves,” continued the coach, pointing to a seven-quarter skid this season when the Conchs lost 10 turnovers and went scoreless.
“We had a costly turnover on Friday night when we were driving in for the game-tying drive at the time,” Hughes said of the eventual 33-21 victory. “We’ve had too many of those this year and we can’t afford to have those lack of focus. We cut down on those, which is guess is a positive, but really last week they tried to play physically against us and we were able to wear them down and be the ones standing at the final bell. Our big dogs were a little bigger.”
Taking on the Sabres, the Conchs coach expressed the playbook is wide open while the keys to victory will to limit the turnovers, play strong defense and run the ball the best.
“Their running back is putting up good numbers, but so do we, we have two,” said Hughes. “We know they will try to control the clock and make some big plays, but we are trying to do the same thing. We want to pound them into submission and once they get too close we will go over the top. It’s just a matter of what they come out with because we never get what we see on film because they have played spread for five games and don’t face offenses like us. Now they will see something different and we will see how they adjust to us.”
In order to win the loaded District 16-3A, which will be determined in the regular season and includes Miami Jackson as well as Northwestern, Key West must first claim victory on St. Brendan’s home-turfed field, no matter whether the game is under the lights on Thursday or on Saturday in the afternoon sun.
“We are going to plan for Thursday so it’s easier to adjust to Saturday,” said Hughes. “We are used to practicing at that time and without a district tournament every game counts, so each and every week is a playoff game.”
Local News
Comments / 0