By Staff
Scot Beard
PHIL CAMPBELL – The Phil Campbell football team has not experienced the thrill of victory since 2006, so fans might expect members of the team to be frustrated after Clements scored with less than a minute remaining to claim a 35-28 win over the Bobcats.
Phil Campbell coach Michael Parker said those expectations could not be farther from the truth.
"I talked to some of the team leaders Monday to get a feel for the team's morale," Parker said. "They told me, 'Coach, we haven't been in a fight that late in a game in a long time. We're doing great.'"
Parker said he has seen improvement each week, especially against Clements – which he said was the most complete team the Bobcats have played so far.
He is pleased with the offense's effort last week. After scoring only 13 points in the first two games, the 28 points scored Friday gave the players more confidence in the system.
He said the problem Phil Campbell has been having so far is that the team takes too long to get into the game.
"We start the game waiting to see what the other team is going to do," Parker said. "When we realize we can play with them we are behind."
The Bobcats have fallen behind 14-0 in each of their games this season. If the team can get past that hurdle, they could begin to pile up wins.
"We're going to play with everybody on the schedule. If we stay healthy, we can compete," Parker said. "These guys know we are at the tip of the iceberg. It goes back to me saying they need to learn how to win."
Phil Campbell will try to complete that lesson tonight at Lexington. The Golden Bears are 1-2 with their only win coming against Clements.
Parker said Lexington runs a Tony Franklin-style offense and the key to defeating them will be to stop the Golden Bears from establishing a passing attack.
"We're going to have to be able to defend against the pass and then stop the run game," Parker said. "They have a good run game."