If Saturday night’s 35-10 loss to Coleman at Gordon Wood Stadium is any indication, the Eagles still have quite a way to go before they’re fully versed in the new system.
“If we play like that, we won’t beat many people,” Walker said. “I just hope to get better. We get better every day and that’s what we’re going to try and do. Hopefully we learn from it. It doesn’t feel good to lose.”
A week after shredding Franklin for 414 rushing yards en route to a come-from-behind win in its season opener, Rogers sputtered for most of the night against the Bluecats (2-0).
The Eagles’ best play turned out to be their first. Halfback Jordan Sebek, coming off of a 214-yard rushing game, took the ball on Rogers’ first offensive play from scrimmage up the middle and went nearly untouched for a 43-yard touchdown for a 7-6 lead.
But that was as good as it got for Rogers (1-1).
All the Eagles got after that was a 38-yard field goal by Ben Baecker to end the first half as the Eagles cut their deficit to 21-10.
An offensive system that’s supposed to eat up yardage and control the clock did neither. Rogers finished with 218 total yards, 66 in the second half.
Simply put, Rogers just never got its offense going.
“They wore us out up front tonight,” Walker said. “Why? I don’t know. I think we’re better than what we showed.”
Even when Rogers moved the ball, it didn’t come up with anything to show for it. In two trips inside Coleman’s 20-yard line, the Eagles lost a fumble and turned the ball over on downs.
Sebek had a team-best 77 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Chance Marek gained 46 yards on 12 rushes.
Part of the Eagles’ struggles, Walker said, were caused by an injury that forced personnel changes on the offensive line. The move forced Walker to start a new center and guards, hoping to find the right mix.
But even with the changes, the line is exactly where Walker expected his team to have an advantage.
“I didn’t think they (Coleman) were very good up front - that’s the frustrating thing,” he said. “If they were good up front, then I would have tipped my hat to them. I thought that’s where we would dominate them. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Instead, the Bluecats controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides.
After Sebek’s touchdown, Coleman took control by scoring touchdowns on two of its next three possessions. And the way the Bluecats did it had to make Walker cringe.
Both times Coleman ran it right into the teeth of the Eagles’ line and scored touchdowns of 63 and 14 yards. Both times the running backs went nearly untouched.
Coleman racked up 427 yards total offense, 248 rushing.
“They definitely dominated the offensive and defensive lines and that’s something we’ve got to get better at,” Walker said.
Though Coleman took a stranglehold of the momentum by running right at Rogers’ defense, the Bluecats had just as much success through the air.
Quarterback Colton Buzzard was nearly flawless, completing 11 of 15 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those wide-open scores went to Dalton Deleon, who had 118 yards on six catches.
“We’re better than what we showed,” said Walker, whose team will host Bruceville-Eddy (1-1) on Friday night. “All you can do is learn from it."
rschneider@temple-telegram.com
