Collective improvement

Mamou seeks first win of season, tackles Merryville
Image

It has been at least 10 years since Mamou has won a season opener.
However, the Demons will have the opportunity to reverse that trend tomorrow night when they tackle the Merryville Panthers at home. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Mamou comes into the contest with a plethora of talent and experience, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The Demons find themselves in a unique leadership situation, fielding 18 seniors on the club; a fact that is not lost to head coach Dwight Collins.
“This group of seniors are hungry to get this program to the next level,” stated Collins. “This game is just one step in helping them move in that direction. I don’t feel there is pressure on us to go out and win this first game in particular. There is pressure in every game, no matter if it is the first or the last.”
“But, as long as we see that the players are getting better and better every day, we know that things will fall in place,” he continued. “We have to focus on collectively improving in every area. If we go out there and execute and bring what we do well at practice to the game, I believe that the wins will come.”
This past Friday night, the Demons were able to highlight some of the athleticism they possess on both sides of the ball in their 26-0 win over Pine Prairie and their 6-6 tie with Sacred Heart.
Offensively, Mamou put up 154 yards of total offense, with 100 of those yards coming on the ground. However, the play that highlighted that showcased that athleticism was the 46 yard pass play between quarterback Daylon Ardoin and wide receiver Kyrian Green.
Ardoin, scrambling around in the pocket, found Green on the left sideline. Green then made a couple of Pine Prairie defenders miss and outraced the rest of the Panthers for the score.
Defensively, Mamou held Pine Prairie to a meager 24 yards of total offense, while controlling the wildly effective Sacred Heart run game to less than 100 yards. The Demons did come up with one turnover, a textbook interception from outside linebacker Tanner Atchinson.
“We showed that we are getting better in the jamboree,” commented Collins. “We are just not as consistent as I would like. One thing that we have to be able to do is to eliminate the physical and mental mistakes. Offensively, we have to continue to work on the technical things. Defensively, we need to make sure that the right calls are getting out there.”
“I was impressed at the way we went out and competed,” Collins continued. “Overall, the players looked like they were not thinking and going through the motions like they did last season. It seemed that they had a better grip on the concepts we want them to understand.”
Mamou will need all of their collective improvement in order to take down Merryville. The Panthers have a number of returners off of a team that pulled a first round upset of White Castle in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs last season.
Sophomore Cameron Williams propels the Merryville offense. The star running back produced a 1,000 yard rushing season in 2018.
The Panthers line up in a wing formation with split backs and will run the ball 70 percent of the time. However, they can lull you to sleep and throw the football very effectively when necessary.
“They are a well-coached team that has playoff experience,” said Collins. “They have a really good running game and execute their game plan well. They manage their athletes in terms of putting together a plan that works for them and the group of players they have. We have got our hands full. We will not quite be at full strength this week, having two offensive linemen out. We have some coaching to do to get us prepared for a team that can come in here and give you a loss if you are not ready to play.”