Mamou seeks early success against Iota

By: RHETT MANUEL Sports Editor IOTA – It’s a cliche that slow and steady wins the race. However do not try to tell that to Mamou head coach Dwight Collins who, for just one week, would like to see his team play the role of the hare rather than the tortoise. Collins has no issue with how his Green Demons have finished games this season. They tend to be a team that gets better as adjustments are made and the game wears on. But they’re also a team that, if it goes sideways like it did in Mamou’s 68-30 loss to Oakdale last week, it tends to go very sideways. Collins is hopeful that his team finds that ability to start well soon, preferably this Friday against the red-hot Iota Bulldogs in District 4-3A play. Starting well starts on the practice field, where Collins says his team has responded well after last week’s struggle. ‘The kids’ attitude has been great,” Collins said. “We’ve been a lot better in practice this week. ” It’s welcome news when playing a team who has been as good as Iota has been lately. After an 0-2 start, the Bulldogs have run off five wins in a row and find themselves undefeated in district play. “I see why they’re winning,” Collins said. “Offensively, they have a rhythm in everything they’re doing. They don’t look like there’s that many mistakes going on offensively or defensively. “They’re playing as a unit. That’s what’s helping them the most. They seem to be in stride all-around. There’s no blown calls, they seem to be getting coached up pretty well.” In a game of wits, Mamou and Collins won’t be behind. However, where Mamou shoots themselves in the foot is falling behind early. It happened again last week, where Mamou fell behind 30-8 before clawing back to within two touchdowns and a 44-30 margin. A pick-six and a couple big plays made Mamou lose their momentum and put them on the wrong end of an unfortunate scoreline. “We started so slow it was unbelievable,” Collins said. “They score off of a pick-six and two long runs and that’s how the game ends. We need to start fast. We’re not starting off as well as we should.” Mamou’s defense, coming off of the catastrophic Oakdale game, will need to recollect itself as well. “I thought we’d been playing well despite the scores,” Collins said. “Defensively, it seems like it all fell apart the first quarter and a half. When we picked it up, it was too late.”