Coaches Corner for September 15th: Tyler Lloyd, Ogden Football

With us on coach's corner, KWBG and Toxham Ogden football. Tyler Lloyd joining us. Bulldogs get ready for West Marshall on Friday and coach, if you would have told me, I think we played our best football game of the year and lost by 11. I'd say how and yet when you and I were just kind of visiting off air, it makes sense. You guys put together a heck of an effort, just did not get in the score, you know, enough scores on Friday night. Yeah. And it's, you know, it's one of those things. I mean, you're always, I'm a glass half full kind of guy. I think you, if you're going to survive in this profession, you kind of have to be that way. And, you know, I think the biggest thing for us is kids played their best game from start to finish. You know, we had had some opportunities in there that we didn't cash in on. And, you know, we're playing a two time district champion back to back here with 12 seniors on their roster that are contributing heavy heavily. And, you know, you're able to stand toe to toe with that. And we knew our schedule was big when we got, you know, obviously all the preseason rankings and things and you're looking at who you're playing and our kids, you know, had opportunities and we just didn't cash in. So we've got to clean up some of those critical mistakes that, you know, make the difference between winning and losing, but effort was there. Execution at times was really good and at times was pretty poor. And you get back to the drawing board, but everybody's zero and zero right now. And that's what district plays for. And these first three games are trying to find an identity. I was just going to ask you about that, Tyler, because I know, I know you guys beat it into the kids' heads because you have to sometimes is that, listen, yeah, those first three games, we're trying to do stuff, we're trying to win, no question. Now is the grind though, Tyler. I mean, this is, I hate to always say this because it makes, I don't want to diminish the first ones, but this is kind of where the cream rises to the top. Yeah. And, you know, you just kind of look at those things and you do the best you can. And you're not, it's not preseason in Iowa High School football. I mean, those three non-district games go against your record and those types of things, but district plays where it matters. You could go three and O in your non-district schedule and you could lose all the way out and you ain't getting in the playoffs. So obviously that's always the baseline goal every year, get to the playoffs. You know, obviously you want to improve your seating. You want to host a playoff game and you want to win a district title, but at the mountain that you climbed. So, you know, we're kind of, you know, we're at the bottom of that mountain right now, but everybody's down there with us and you kind of see how things sort itself out. Rushing the football, I know was something that you guys struggled a little bit against Eagle Grove coach. Did that get a little bit better against Manson? No, but I mean, there's, there's a couple caveats to some of that stuff too. And we haven't had the same offensive line for the first three weeks of the season. So you lose some of that continuity. You know, I kind of lean on my college experiences sometimes and coach always said it's not going to be the five best alignment who play. It's going to be the five who play the best together. Well, when you're moving guys in and out, that communication piece is so critical with some of the things that we do. And that makes it pretty tough. But you know, we've got guys that are stepping up to the challenge though. Nate Swisher making a position move from a receiver spot, tight end spot for us to right tackle has been really big for us. That's a huge undertaking to play an entirely different position. And then yeah, we've got four sophomores out there contributing for us right now. So we're still young and I don't know what the theme is in Oregon, but we just continue to get younger every year. It's different. But you know, I think that speaks to our development too though, because we've got kids that, you know, stick with it, you know, able to go through the grind of the season and those kinds of things. And you know, on the back end of it, you're always going to look back and say, Hey, that was, that was some significant improvement there. But we will be challenged in the box. There's a lot of beef in the West Marshall front, front five, front eight. And that'll be a different challenge for us. But you know, the things for us, we talk about too, is we want to play in the grass. So hopefully we can attack some voids and get some things out there because we're not limited by team speed. I can tell you that it's just a matter of some of those execution things, get some of that continuity up front. And then, you know, just trying to, you know, situationally, kind of pick and choose our spots a little bit. But yeah, you've got to be able to run the ball. And there'll be, there'll be kind of an emphasis on that as we, as we try to prepare for the week. Well, I'll tell you what, you had a pretty big individual effort last week, coach. And I wanted to talk about this kid because I saw it against Eagle Grove as well. But can you tell me about Ryder Eklund and just what he's meaning to this football team so far this year? Yeah, you know, Ryder's just, he's done a phenomenal job as, you know, as a junior, but he's, he's pretty heavy leader on the team. And you know, a lot of the people don't see the things that I get to see working with him. And just his, his intensity, his attention to detail, he brings the energy. I don't think anybody has more fun doing the act, doing football than Ryder Eklund does. He's kind of that juice guy and obviously loves wrestling. And that translates really well to the football. And you know, he's just, he's made some phenomenal plays back there. And you know, he's, he's only a junior. So we get to continue to kind of watch him grow and develop. But I mean, not a nicer, not a nicer kid either. I mean, as a teenager, right? He's, you're continuing to grow and mature and do those kinds of things. And he's, she's doing an absolutely phenomenal job. All right, scouting report. Tell me about West Marshall. I heard the word beef. I'm not surprised. They always seem to have some big fellas over there in state center. Always have to have a little speed too as well. But what are you seeing from West Marshall on film coach? Yeah, team is phenomenally coached. Obviously, they've had continuity on that staff for quite a few years or quite a few decades now. You're talking about one of the premier programs in the state. I think if you, you know, you make a list of top 20 programs, you're probably putting West Marshall in there regardless of class, just with, you know, the tradition and stuff that exists there. And, you know, yeah, beef, big, big kids, commitment to the weight room, always going to be that way. Genetics helps with that too. Must be something in the water. Maybe we can pipeline some of that over some time, but or steal some in our water jug when we leave. But definitely got, got those things going there. But they've definitely been loose with the football. So we got to try to be opportunistic and get some extra possessions there. And then like I've told our kids, we've got to play in green grass, you know, we're not going to be able to fight in a phone booth with a, with a group like this, but that's okay. I mean, we've, we've had that before. We've had teams on our schedule like that, you know, the South Hams of a couple years ago and that kind of stuff. So we've been tested in those areas and at times have performed very well and then at times haven't. So we'll kind of see it's homecoming for them. So you hope, you know, you hope there's some sort of distraction there. I'm probably the Grinch of homecoming when it comes to when I have it at our place, but I think there's a reason coaches are that way too. And you know, hopefully we've got to cash in some opportunities and we've had those opportunities. We're very efficient. We've just got to make sure that we get the ball offensively and then execute and continue to protect the ball. We're talking about one turnover in three weeks. It's pretty phenomenal. Tyler is always best of luck coming up here on Friday night. We'll talk again soon. Yeah, I appreciate it. Go dogs. You bet. Tyler Lloyd again joining us Ogden Football here on Coaches Corner.