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The Petersburg Crimson Wave has handed their second loss of the season last week against Matoaca High School and going into their Friday contest 2-2, the Wave knows what they need to work on: blocking.
It has been an issue in previous games where it limits the progress of the offense. Against John Marshall, the longest drive of the second quarter holding penalties committed by both teams would send the Wave back as far as the opponent’s 40-yard line. While the Wave was able to score on that drive and others like it, it may not be that easy anymore especially against their opponent this week, The Dinwiddie Generals.
So far this season Dinwiddie is undefeated and is ranked number one in the division and third in the state. The Generals have a commanding offense that will keep the defense on its toes and challenge the Wave with what they can do.
“I just feel like we just need to get better at blocking,” said Head Coach Mike Scott.
Last week against Matoaca the defense got six stops which according to Scott is an improvement from last spring. The stops occurred with a defense that continues to improve and not getting lazy.
When a punt got blocked last week Wave special teams scrambled to secure the ball, something that had not been done in previous games. That may not have happened in previous games but the Wave is improving but keeping their opponents in front of them and blocking them is what they need to work on.
Some attribute the issues of blocking to a gap in football education in Petersburg. Some go from Pee-Wee to high school football and miss practicing football in middle school. But no matter the issue, Scott and the coaching staff do their best to drill proper technique to their players. It happens every week and every game, but it takes a lot of repetition to rep something other teams have been doing for years.
But that does not make blocking any less important, especially when it can set a team back in a game.
Slow starts have impacted PHS by slowing down a drive and the issues can be hard to work around in a game. Sometimes, issues like blocking can come from nerves or not playing in a while, even though the defense gives 100%.
“The effort is there… I could kinda see the rust,” Scott said.
Not playing for two weeks can have that effect on a team. But the rust should be gone against Dinwiddie and with preparations on blocking this week in practice, the Wave can play on the same level as the Generals.
Zoe Collins Rath (she/her/hers) is a sports and education reporter for the Progress-Index. For times email her at ZCollinsRath@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @zoe_jordan99.
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