Tigers seeking consistency against Satsuma

Demopolis is set to host Region 3 foe Satsuma Friday night for its annual Homecoming game. And while most in the City of the People are looking forward to a happy homecoming, DHS head coach Tom Causey remains uneasy.

He understands that Satsuma’s 2-5 record is not indicative of the way the Gators have played in spots this season. Nor does it speak to the pedigree of first-year head coach Scott Rials.

“Their record is not real good, but they don’t miss blocks, they don’t miss tackles, they’re where they’re supposed to be. There’s nothing fantastic about the players physically, but they’re making plays,” Causey said of the Gators.

Triggering the attack for Satsuma is junior quarterback Reid Rials, a 6-0, 175-pound signal-caller capable of making plays that few other quarterbacks in the state can.

“They’re quarterback is unreal. The ball comes out of his hand,” Causey said. “There’s a small percentage of people on the planet that can make the throws he makes. He is a winner. He is a coach’s son. He plays the game the way it is supposed to be played. He’s on the field and running around and making plays. You can tell he is the leader of their offense.”

Only a few months into the Scott Rials era, the Gators have already started to show a measure of discipline that has helped them to minimize mistakes.

“They’re linebackers are always where they’re supposed to be. They’re D-line is going to take care of their two-yard area right there and make plays in those spots,” Causey said. “They ran the football real well against Jackson and then against Citronelle, they threw it all over the place. We’ve got our hands full this week.”

For the Tigers, Friday becomes about not only winning a contest they have to have, but also about finding consistency.

“I said something to the boys the other night after the game. We’ve got to be consistent. We’re making the right blocks on this play. It’s the exact same look, the exact same personnel and we’re not on the next play. We just have to be consistent with what we’re doing,” Causey said. “We’re doing it Monday through Thursday in practice and we’re not doing it on Friday. There is something that is missing between Thursday and Friday night. We’ve got to figure it out, get that eliminated and go play.”

Demopolis struggled with consistency last week against Sumter Central amid a myriad of distractions ranging from a poorly-conditioned field, a malfunctioning scoreboard and a total 29 penalty flags that hit the ground over the course of the night.

“I’m preaching about leadership. That comes down to leadership,” Causey said. “I can say it. Our coaches can say it from now until Jesus comes back, but we’ve got to have some guys on our team and live it. We’ve got to be more mature. It shouldn’t matter if we’re playing in a parking lot. We’re going to get that fixed.”