Shane Patrick Quotations

Fundamentals are the key. Defensively, we work on tackling and block defeat. Those are the two things we have to work on every day. Any good defense does those things every day. Offensively, we have to work on blocking and protecting the football. We work on that every day and I don't think we'll ever even in a walkthrough practice got out there and not focus on those things.

We're pleased to be going to nationals. I'm quite proud of the way our team ran.

I thought at times we showed we could move the ball. Our passing game looked good at times. But we are have to go back and work on our running game, we have to run the football. On defense, I saw some things. Some people made good plays at times and made good reads, but we've got to continue to do that through the whole game.

I think it was a huge blow to us. We've got to learn to overcome things like that and continue to play.

Our kids are getting excited. The first home game is coming up and the community is getting excited as well. I don't want us to get too exited on a Tuesday, I want it to build up for Friday night. I think we're right where we need to be.

Overall we had a fantastic effort. We accomplished what we wanted to accomplish.

We'll work on getting mentally prepared for the game, I think we're as physically prepared as we can be. I think we're in pretty good shape. Our guys who are young and having to play are stepping up. Our kids know what to do, they know what to expect. It's just a matter going out and executing every Friday night. I think our program is in good shape. Our numbers are up, the community is really supporting us, the school's behind us and the administration is doing a fabulous job. The odds are in our favor to go out and play well.

We had a great race. I am pleased with how they ran. I did not expect to run a perfect score. I am really pleased with the effort by these young women.

We knew Duke was going to be very good this year, there is a reason they are No. 1. I really think we are on track. We're still training really hard. I feel like we ran well. We never peak early so we're a long ways from where we want to be at the end of the year, but I feel satisfied that we are in the right place.

Defensively, it's just going to come down to tackling. When it is all said and done, that's the basis of defensive football. If we do a good job of tackling, then we'll do well.

That's just a testament to these young men. They fought through. They just wanted to win this football game.

A lot of it comes down to blocking. We've got to get the job done with the offensive line and handling the ball. We had some kids injured and some kids that were in positions they haven't played before, but they've got to step up. We have to learn to play and we're going to go through some growing pains like that.

It was a tough race out there with great competition. It was the strongest field that I can ever remember in terms of competition. I'm proud of our eighth-place finish. I think the girls had a great year, and it's a real honor to be in the top 10 at nationals.

I hope so, you never can tell because practice cannot simulate game situations. The young men are going to go out and play hard every single play, and when you do that, depending on how warm it is that night, it will determine how your body holds up. We'll be a lot better off than last year. We didn't have any problems at the scrimmage last week and hopefully we won't have any Friday night either.

Hopefully, we'll find out some good news in the next few days about William Dyer. Maybe he'll be back with us soon than expected. We just don't know yet. Other than that, we're fairly healthy.

Chad Morris being back helps us tremendously. Not only is he our starting cornerback, he's also one of our backup running backs. He's had a great two days of practice and his conditioning is starting to come back after being off. I think he'll be fine.