As a longtime subscriber to the belief that football teams make their greatest improvements between the first and second weeks of the season, Andy Frye already knows when he wants to see when Centre College takes the field for game two.
The Colonels’ coach will be looking for signs that his team is building on its season-opening win when they host Rose-Hulman at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Farris Stadium.
And that means that while countering their opponent’s strategy is important, refining their own game is more so.
“Our big emphasis right now is obviously lining up against Rose-Hulman, but what we’re really focusing on is let’s be the best we can be at what Centre does,” Frye said. “We’re kind of being tyrants about the mental intensity, which is what makes up most mental errors. We want to completely eradicate mental errors.”
That almost always proves to be an unreachable goal, but Frye said better execution makes it at least more likely to keep those errors at a bare minimum.
He said the Colonels made some of those errors last week in their 42-21 victory at Bethany (W.Va.), but they didn’t become a serious problem.
“The errors or mistakes that we made were correctible, and that was the best part. The things that we did, those things can be improved on,” Frye said.
Frye said there were few errors in special teams, an area in which he said the Colonels held a decided edge over Bethany, but he said special teams will continue to be a point of emphasis.
“We certainly want to be even better than that. To be honest, Bethany was not very good on special teams, and Rose-Hulman will be much better on special teams,” he said.
Rose-Hulman (0-1), one of Centre’s former rivals in both the College Athletic Conference and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, opened its season last week with a 29-28 loss to Kalamazoo. The Engineers scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase most of a 14-point deficit but were stopped on a two-point conversion attempt that would have given them the lead with 2 minutes, 15 seconds to play.
The Engineers rolled up 433 yards, including 267 rushing yards. Running back Kyle Kovach, a third-team Little All-America selection as a junior last year, covered most of that ground, rushing for 223 yards and scoring on runs of 65 and 60 yards, and quarterback Mitch Snyder went 21 for 37 for 166 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions that accounted for half of their four turnovers.
“(Kovach) is really a good multi-purpose runner, and they have a quarterback who can make plays,” Frye said. “They’re a team that likes to run gadgets, that keeps you off balance.”
Frye said the Colonels have to be sound defensively against an offense capable of several trick plays, and they also have to be sharp against an up-tempo team that will snap the ball within 15 to 18 seconds.
Like Rose-Hulman, Centre’s ground game had a good day in its opener. The Colonels rushed for 272 of their 452 yards at Bethany, with tailback Monte Scotton running 24 times for 85 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Heath Haden running 19 times for 151 yards and a touchdown in a debut in which he also completed 10 of 18 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
Frye said that was just one of the positives the Colonels took away from that game.
“The positive side of it is that we rushed well,” he said. “Two is the confidence factor in our quarterback. Not only did he need that, but our team needed to see that. And the kids now feel like they’re in better condition, and ... our guys realize now that can be a variable.”
This is not only the home opener for Centre, but also the team’s alumni weekend. The school welcomes back all football alumni and their families and will recognize the 1972 CAC championship team at the game.
The Colonels’ coach will be looking for signs that his team is building on its season-opening win when they host Rose-Hulman at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Farris Stadium.
And that means that while countering their opponent’s strategy is important, refining their own game is more so.
“Our big emphasis right now is obviously lining up against Rose-Hulman, but what we’re really focusing on is let’s be the best we can be at what Centre does,” Frye said. “We’re kind of being tyrants about the mental intensity, which is what makes up most mental errors. We want to completely eradicate mental errors.”
That almost always proves to be an unreachable goal, but Frye said better execution makes it at least more likely to keep those errors at a bare minimum.
He said the Colonels made some of those errors last week in their 42-21 victory at Bethany (W.Va.), but they didn’t become a serious problem.
“The errors or mistakes that we made were correctible, and that was the best part. The things that we did, those things can be improved on,” Frye said.
Frye said there were few errors in special teams, an area in which he said the Colonels held a decided edge over Bethany, but he said special teams will continue to be a point of emphasis.
“We certainly want to be even better than that. To be honest, Bethany was not very good on special teams, and Rose-Hulman will be much better on special teams,” he said.
Rose-Hulman (0-1), one of Centre’s former rivals in both the College Athletic Conference and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, opened its season last week with a 29-28 loss to Kalamazoo. The Engineers scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase most of a 14-point deficit but were stopped on a two-point conversion attempt that would have given them the lead with 2 minutes, 15 seconds to play.
The Engineers rolled up 433 yards, including 267 rushing yards. Running back Kyle Kovach, a third-team Little All-America selection as a junior last year, covered most of that ground, rushing for 223 yards and scoring on runs of 65 and 60 yards, and quarterback Mitch Snyder went 21 for 37 for 166 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions that accounted for half of their four turnovers.
“(Kovach) is really a good multi-purpose runner, and they have a quarterback who can make plays,” Frye said. “They’re a team that likes to run gadgets, that keeps you off balance.”
Frye said the Colonels have to be sound defensively against an offense capable of several trick plays, and they also have to be sharp against an up-tempo team that will snap the ball within 15 to 18 seconds.
Like Rose-Hulman, Centre’s ground game had a good day in its opener. The Colonels rushed for 272 of their 452 yards at Bethany, with tailback Monte Scotton running 24 times for 85 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Heath Haden running 19 times for 151 yards and a touchdown in a debut in which he also completed 10 of 18 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
Frye said that was just one of the positives the Colonels took away from that game.
“The positive side of it is that we rushed well,” he said. “Two is the confidence factor in our quarterback. Not only did he need that, but our team needed to see that. And the kids now feel like they’re in better condition, and ... our guys realize now that can be a variable.”
This is not only the home opener for Centre, but also the team’s alumni weekend. The school welcomes back all football alumni and their families and will recognize the 1972 CAC championship team at the game.
