The Glenbrook Apaches have enjoyed a spirited week ahead of Friday’s homecoming game against the Union Christian Academy Lions.
Homecoming arrives right on time for a team that suffered a crushing loss last week to their rivals from Claiborne Academy. The Apaches led late before the Rebels drove the field for the winning score with 25 seconds left on the clock.
But head coach Caleb Carmikle said he hasn’t seen a hangover effect.
“After a tough loss like last Friday night a lot of teams come out and are down on themselves,” Carmikle said. “These kids haven’t done that. They realize just how close we are to being a pretty good football team and I think last week motivated them. We’ve had a great week of practice.”
The Apaches took a big step forward against the Rebels, putting up 25 points.
“You can definitely see more confidence among the skill guys,” Carmikle said. “The kids have rallied around Seth. He’s starting to understand the full scheme of the offense and is starting to take on a leadership role. Every day this week after practice he gets his receivers together and they’re working on timing. It’s refreshing to see.”
Carmikle said the team across the sideline Friday night will be no pushover, despite the fact that homecoming opponents normally aren’t the strongest.
“They’re the most naturally athletic team in our conference,” Carmikle said. “They have some good looking kids at the skill positions. Up front is probably their biggest weakness and we feel like that’s an area where we can attack. But they’re no slouch. It’s going to take a great effort on both sides of the football for us to come out on top.”
Each game at this point serves as a learning experience for a young team with a first year head coach. Carmikle said this season has been a more of a challenge than he could have imagined.
“Things haven’t gone in our favor as much as I hoped they would,” Carmikle said. “There’s been a learning curve for everyone involved in the program, and I think we’ve all grown quite a bit and you can see how close we are. Hopefully it all comes together this week and we get that first win.”
The Apaches will take the field in front of a large, homecoming crowd with kickoff set for 7 p.m.