HERMLEIGH — The Hermleigh Cardinals look to gain momentum heading into the District 4-1A Division I schedule when they play at Bronte Friday night.
Hermleigh head coach Sam Winters said the 7:30 p.m. game will test his team against a program that has had a winning tradition in Class 2A.
“Bronte’s coaches and players know what it takes to win,” he said. “They have good athletes who compete in all sports. We want a win for momentum going into district.”
Hermleigh has played a challenging schedule and Winters said it should help when district play begins next week.
“I didn’t do us a favor with the schedule, but it is great for experience,” he said. “We wanted to be ready for district and needed to play quality teams.”
Hermleigh had two starters out last week in the loss to Blackwell, but Winters did see a positive come out of the game.
“The No. 1 positive from the Blackwell game was playing younger players,” Winters said. “It will help develop depth. You need that depth to be successful.”
Kelton Carroll, who missed three games with a concussion, will play this week. The playing status of Luis Gonzalez, who missed last week’s game with a knee injury will be decided Friday.
“We want to make sure Luis is 100 percent and ready for district,” Winters said. “He is a great leader and captain of the defense. We want him out there if he can play, but we will need him for district games.”
Bronte quarterback Garrett Knight and running back Riley McIntire are two of the players Winters said will be the focus of the defense.
Winters said Bronte relies on its power and size more than its speed.
“Bronte is big and strong,” he said. “The running back is big, but maybe not as fast as other backs we played against this year. Bronte is similar to White Deer in size.”
Winters said his team must block well on Friday.
“We blocked well against Ropes, but hesitated for some reason against Blackwell,” he said. “We want to play more consistent and block well.”
The coach hopes some defensive adjustments will lead to confusion by the Bronte offense.
“We want to make Bronte uncomfortable,” he said. “We want to create turnovers.”
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