Eric Smith
Staff Writer
There is a new sense of hope, a new sense of pride, a brand new offense and new leadership at the helm of the Lytle Pirate Football program. Will unstoppable success come overnight? No one will know that, until the lights shine in November. For now, one thing is for sure and that is the boys in black and gold are ready to “Dig Deep” as they welcome the Carrizo Springs Wildcats this Friday at Walter Joyce Stadium.
Scrimmage Recap
The Lytle Pirates wrapped up scrimmage play last Thursday as they hosted San Antonio Christian and Brackett to town.
“Our kids have really stepped up to challenges they are facing early,” Coach Mike Trevino said. “The positive energy remains to be contagious and filters all the way through the locker room and sideline.
According to Trevino, offensively they saw more positives, especially at the RB and QB position.
“Every day is a competition for our program, so our kids will compete for their playing time daily.”
Lytle has implemented a brand new rare offense as they will run a lot of triple-option stuff that is sure to keep the defense guessing.
During the controlled portion of the scrimmages, SAC scored one time vs. Lytle on a long, explosive play as the Pirates held the Tigers scoreless.
“Our offense moved the ball very well with explosive plays of our town and our defense flew around the field.” During the Live Q, Lytle was able to score on their offensive drive.
“The consistency is beginning to show offensively,” Trevino said. “We are also finding out who our potential starters are going to be heading into week one. Once again, we had over six explosive plays and moved the ball on the ground well.
According to Trevino, he would like to see improvement with the O-Line. “With two way players starting on both sides of the ball, we just want to find more consistency at certain positions,” Trevino added. “Defensively, our hurdle is in the secondary and we have improved each week, but still face some challenges ahead.”
Carrizo Springs Outlook
The Carrizo Springs Wildcats will prance into town Friday night for the first meeting between the two squads since 2017-2018. Carrizo enters the season coming off a 2-8 campaign which finished 0-4 in their 4A district. The Cats will welcome back five starters on both sides of the ball.
The last meeting between the two squads was in 2017-2018 where the Cats won 29-22. This season, Trevino is hoping for a little early season success in front of what should be a great home crowd full of renewed energy to support the black and gold.
“CS will be a great test for us right away,” Trevino said. “They are dynamic on offense with a new implementation of the “Slot-T”, so we will have out hands full trying to stop the rushing attack.”
According to Trevino, the Cats are led by their QB who is the best athlete on the Dimmit County squad. “He is all over the field and loves the ball in his hands,” Trevino said. “He is looking to create explosive plays every down.”
According to the leader of the ship-deck, the Cats base their defense out of a 4-2-5 (hybrid/2 high safety) defense.
“They love to bring pressure and have kids flying around every play,” Trevino said. “Their LB group is a strength of theirs and runs well with the flow.”
Kickoff is set
The Cats and Pirates will be collecting Peanut Butter as a part of a campaign to feed the less fortunate on Friday, but popcorn and peanuts will be available for four quarters of hard-hitting action come 7:00 pm at Walter Joyce Stadium.
“I just want us to just be us, run our race and focus on each other Friday,” Trevino said. “I want to stay off the results and sty on each other,” Trevino added.
Lytle vs Carrizo – Friday Night, be there and support the Black and Gold! Let’s “Dig Deep Pirate Fans.” As the great Dan Pitts once said, “That’s just how you like it Pirate Fans!”
