It hasn’t been the start Glenbrook coaches, players or fans were hoping for.
At 0-4, the Apaches are behind the eight ball in their quest to post a 14 straight winning or .500 season. It appears the Apaches will need a miracle to keep the streak alive, or maybe, just some leadership.
“Tuesday we had an absolutely terrible practice,” Apache head coach Caleb Carmikle said. “We sat the guys down and laid it out there, that it’s going to be a really long season if we don’t turn it around right now.
We elected official team captains and all the coaches spoke with those captains about what we expect from them in terms of leadership, because that’s really what this team is missing right now.”
Carmikle said the team chose seniors, Archer Moses, Garrett Sanders, Drennan Keen and Lyle Reagan as captains
for the remainder of the season, and praised the efforts of the foursome up to this point.
“Drennan is just a different kind of kid, Carmikle said. “He’s had a nagging injury since the start of the season and I hate it for him. He’s someone the kids look up to, someone who brings it everyday in practice.
Archer Moses is the vocal leader of our team both on the field and in the locker room. He gives all he has every day in practice and I’m proud of the way he’s handled himself.”
Carmikle praised Sanders for leading by example on the field so far this season, and Reagan for playing through injury.
“We’ve talked with them about laying the foundation,” Carmikle said. “They’re laying out the future for our program. If you don’t build a solid foundation the house will crumble.”
Carmikle said the team responded positively, rebounding with the best practice of the season on Wednesday.
“Hopefully this was a turning point for us,” Carmikle said. “Obviously we still have a steep challenge with Riverfield. They’re huge up front and they have a huge running back. They’re just going to hand it to him and let him do his thing.”
It starts up front for the Apaches with the running game. Offense has been hard to come by for Glenbrook, and this week’s opponent isn’t the type of team to allow the Apaches to find a rhythm, despite giving up 61 points to Trinity Episcopal last week.
“Their defensive line gets after it,” Carmikle said. “They like to send linebackers up the middle and bring six-man pressure. Our running backs will be extremely involved in pass protection this week. In the passing game, our receivers just have to catch the football. We had nine drops last week, so it’s time to start making plays.”
The Apaches will be without a pair of starters for this week’s contest, Hunter Chopin and Da’Maza Robinson.
“We’re a little banged up,” Carmikle said. “It’s just little nick-nack issues throughout the grind of the season. Of course it hurts you on Friday night, but it hurts us worse throughout the week of practice. With low numbers we need everybody available for scout team reps, but on the flip side we’re as healthy on the offensive line as we’ve been all season. Hopefully we can see more production this week on offense behind a healthy group of offensive lineman.”
The Apaches and Raiders will kick things off at 7 p.m. from Apache Stadium.