(Anita) Friday night on KSOM we’ll broadcast the CAM vs East Union football matchup.
The Cougars are ranked #3 in the state by the Associated Press. During their 2-0 start they’ve outscored the competition by a combined 108-16. Coach Barry Bower admits they aren’t satisfied. “We have to fine tune it and correct it. We still have a lot of young kids that we are starting to get into the mold here. We do have some veterans that have played the past three or four years, but we have some guys that are stepping in for the first time seeing varsity action. We’re continuing to get those guys better day in and day out. We’ve been very pleased with their progress.”
Reese Oglesbee, Nolan Hensley, Gavyn Jessen, Gabe Rouse, and Ty Eblen are all new starters on the line and they are progressing. “The more game type reps they can get the better off they are going to be especially from a physical aspect. Last Friday night playing against a physical Bedford team really helped us to see where we matched up and some of the things we need to fix and some of the things we did well. That was very, very encouraging to watch.”
Lane Spieker has ten touchdowns to his credit through two weeks. He’s a versatile piece that will continue to be used in a variety of ways, especially with the return of Ethan Arp. “We can put him at quarterback, at slot, on the edge, at running back, we could put him at tight end if we need to. A lot of these guys-Connor McKee, Colby Rich, Cade Ticknor, Ethan Arp, Karter Hilpipre and Jaxon Bell-all those guys are so interchangeable and that’s what makes it fun and makes it kind of dangerous.”
Coach Bower has made a point of teaching and correcting mistakes even if the team wins by a wide margin. “We have a thing in our program and I say it quite frequently ‘strive for perfection.’ If you’re striving to be perfect then you’re reaching excellence. I want to make sure that I put my best effort as a head coach into these kids every single day. If I’m not doing that then I’m not doing my job as the head coach.”
East Union enters the Week 3 contest at 0-2. The Eagles have lost 68-20 against Stanton and 80-6 against Lenox. Pregame coverage starts with the In the Huddle program at around 5:15 p.m. The game will kick off at 7:00.
CAM coach Barry Bower:
East Union coach Tony Neubauer:
