Patrician ready to get in win column

BUTLER – New Patrician Academy (0-1) head coach Jonathan Lindsey makes no bones about what went wrong for his team last week against Monroe Academy in a 44-16 loss.

“We gave up too many big plays, way too many big plays,” Lindsey said of Patrician’s defensive struggles. “For the most part, our run defense was pretty good. But when it came to our pass defense, we had too many breakdowns in coverage. At times, we didn’t tackle well. We worked on all the tackling drills that we could with this storm. And we reiterated the fact that our veteran defensive backs were getting beat and that is not supposed to happen. But they have responded.”

Against a spread offense such as the one employed by Monroe, coverage breakdowns were crippling. Tonight against Clarke Prep (1-0), Lindsey hopes the efforts during the last week of practice translate to improvement on the field as Patrician dives headlong into region play.

“Clarke Prep is not going to throw the ball near as much as Monroe,” Lindsey said of the Wing T style of attack employed by CPA. “They are the exact same offense as us. So we are very familiar with what they are going to do.”

While the Clarke Prep offense in many ways mirrors the Patrician scheme, the key difference for CPA is its considerable size. Clarke Prep will likely look to run downhill as it challenges the Patrician defensive front.

“Their size. They’re real physical up front,” Lindsey said. “And they’ve got a bruiser fullback that can really go.”

While Clarke Prep comes in with a powerful offense, Patrician is looking to get its offense started after a difficult showing against Monroe in week one.

“Our offense was, for the most part, nonexistent,” Lindsey said. “We had a lot of problems with our offensive line. We did not block real well. But all the things we did wrong in the game are very correctable. One thing I can say about that is that we hadn’t had the opportunity to line up against a full 11 that is going to challenge us. As far as practice this week, one thing we stressed a great deal was our blocking scheme and making sure they understood that.”

While Lindsey is familiar with Clarke Prep’s offensive scheme, he is not quite sure what to expect from the CPA defense and has worked to prepare his team for physical play in the box.

“The past few years they came at us with a five front defense with two linebackers and a strong safety,” Lindsey said. “I have no clue though. I haven’t been able to see any film with somebody who is going to throw two (tight ends) at them.”

With a loss to Monroe Academy already on its record and a date with Lowndes Academy looming next week, Patrician finds itself in a position where it needs to build positive momentum while simultaneously getting a leg up in region play.

“This is a very big game in our region for both teams as well as the rest of the region,” Lindsey said. “(Patrician Academy players) have really responded to what the coaches have had to say. They want to come out of this week with a victory and completely and totally erase what happened last week.”

Patrician and Clarke Prep are set for a 7 p.m. kickoff in Butler.