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On a hot August summer
morning, the
players from Cathedral took the field and played a very spirited
game where starting spots on the team were the prize. Alas,
this prize is only guaranteed for one week; at least right now.
Nothing is written in stone in Head Coach Kevin Pearson's book.
As a Phantom Player you must earn your spot on the roster each and
every week. This feeling did not go unnoticed by
the Phantom players who were hitting, blocking and running with all
their might.
Head Coach Kevin Pearson, always the
perfectionist, was looking at the areas of improvement and had these words of advice for his team; "We
need a lot more work". We need to get to the line quicker.
We need to get the ball to the receivers faster". And
just as
Pearson was stating his observations, he grabbed Senior Receiver
Tahj
Hasson and showed him the proper route to run and how to avoid being
jammed by the opposing cornerback.
On offense, Sophomore QB
Mikail Poole is
challenging Senior
Trevor Olson, a Blue Chip Recruit, who
transferred from Colorado for the starting spot and both players had
a spectacular scrimmage against each other. Olson brings more
experience to the position and the position looks to be his to lose. QB's and Strength & Conditioning Coach Jeff Jefferson had this
to say about the dueling QB's: "A great
competition. A great battle between QB's. It's
like the USC battle between Corp and Barkley, albeit, no Mustain on
the Cathedral roster. Trevor Olson, a Senior transfer from
Colorado brings a strong arm and maturity while Sophomore Mikail
Poole seems to learn from the different themes and qualities Trevor
possesses plus his natural talents will help the Cathedral program
for his remaining two years of eligibility. Mikail has the
athletic ability and arm strength and all he needs to work on is the
mental aspect of the game.
These QB's don't
catch the ball themselves, though and they can consider
themselves lucky to have two of the most sought after receivers in
the state; Senior
Anthony Jefferson and
Senior Tahj Hasson. Together they will provide big targets and
with their size and physicality they're expected to be able to
overpower the opposing Cornerbacks.
On the other side of the field,
Defensive Coach Knox was also looking to get more out of his
players: "We look ok. We made a couple of mistakes.
Our Defensive Ends are going inside but it's something we can work
out next week. When asked if he had any breakout
individuals in the team he answered: "I expect our seniors to be
our leaders and the strength of the team. No "I" in our team".
Coach Jeff Jefferson concurred with Coach
Knox on the defensive efforts and had nothing but praise for the
Defensive Unit: "The Defense in Wonderful. They're flying
around to the ball. The defensive coaches get on the players
to be very aggressive. As you know, Defense wins balls games."
When asked for his
opinion on the offense, Coach Jefferson said: "We have the feel of the game.
We have worked really hard during the week and have focused on echoing
what the calls are and if you're asking whether the players have the
feel of the game; they do and I really am happy for the scrimmage
because I like live and I feel you can't get the job done unless you
go live and this will give us an opportunity to evaluate the
players afterwards."
Now, while the QB's
were getting all the praise accolades, Jr. Running Back
Kristaan Ivory kept
doing what he does best: bowling over Defensive players while carrying
the ball.
This year the
Phantoms are loaded with talent and it looks like Coach Pearson may
be able to breathe a little easier. Just the same, nobody is
giving away league titles and the Phantoms have their work cut out
for them in the upcoming season.
The Phantoms travel
next week to meet the San Gabriel Matadors at Alhambra's Moor Field.
Check the calendar for driving directions.
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