Bradwell Institute football fans got their first look at new coach Adam Carter’s football team Saturday as the Tigers capped spring practice with the Blue-White Game at Olvey Field.
“It has been a good spring for us,” Carter said. “These kids and coaches have had to adjust to a brand-new program, not to mention a new offense and defense. Everyone has worked really hard this spring and that has made it a successful spring.”
Carter, who came to Bradwell around mid-April, has put his players through about three weeks of workouts and 10 full-pad practices during the first two weeks of May.
The Tigers ran several series with the junior-varsity and varsity players for an hour in front of more than 150 fans.
The fans ran an up-tempo, no-huddle offense that featured Bradwell senior quarterback LaBaron Anthony working entirely out of the shotgun. Though the offense is more run-oriented, Anthony was 8-for-9 passing for 90 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown strike to senior receiver Hubert Anderson.
“Hubert is certainly going to figure into an important player for us this season. He will be able to be a starter for us on both sides of the ball. We are going to have several players that will end up going both ways,” Carter said.
Bradwell offensive coordinator Chris Reese also was complimentary of the Tiger offense’s effort, as many of the players were exposed to the new offense only weeks ago. It began right away, as he said the varsity went on a six-play, 60-yard scoring drive on its first possession.
“The offense came out firing on all cylinders and continued for the duration of the game. Several young men had very solid performances on the offensive side of the ball. The boys know that everything was not perfect, and they understand that we still have a long way to go if we are to achieve our ultimate goal,” Reese said. “But they also know that with hard work, anything is possible.”
Carter, who coordinates the Tiger defense, has installed a 3-3-5 defense that’s new to Bradwell.
“We didn’t put in a whole lot of wrinkles in the defense to make sure that we were able to react and make plays. As a defense as a whole, we really flew around to the football and those are things that we have to do during the season to make us successful,” Carter said.
While a successful spring is the basic foundation for future success, the summer is going to be crucial for the Tigers to be ready for the regular season, which starts Aug. 30 at Liberty County.
“We are heading in the right direction, but we are certainly not where we need to be,” Carter said. “We have to get stronger as a team, and we must increase our speed as a team. The only way we can do that is through hard work. We have to be committed to doing those things in addition to going to defensive team camp and also passing leagues this summer. If we work hard I think we will see huge gains when we test at the end of the summer.”