Bradwell Institute welcomes Brunswick to Olvey Field on Friday for the Tigers’ final home game of the 2014 season.
The Tigers have been practicing intensely this week as they look to honor their senior football players, band members and cheerleaders during Friday’s game with the team’s first win of the year.
First-year head coach Greg Hill said it is difficult for the senior boys to cope with a 0-8 season. He said he admires the way the senior class has shown maturity and leadership.
“The thing that we want them to be is great young men after they leave us,” he said. “In life, you are going to face adversity and, well, they faced it this whole year … they never quit and they continued to work hard … our saying is you get knocked down seven times, you get up for eight, and that has sort of been the way they handled this year. You would think, on a 0-8 team, that guys would be down and just going through the motions, but that is not the case with these guys. They’ve been excited to come to work each and every day.”
The Tigers are 0-6 in Region 3-AAAAA going into Friday’s showdown. Brunswick, meanwhile, is 4-2 in the region and 5-3 overall.
On offense, the Tigers’ passing game has started to improve and the rushing attack has amassed 1,159 yards. The Pirates have produced 981 passing yards and 2,131 rushing yards.
“They have some great defensive interior guys that move very well, and those guys are going to present some problems to us,” Hill said. “Offensively, they run the shotgun. Their quarterback is a mobile kid that can run and throw, and they have some athletes on that side of the ball that can really go with it.”
The Tiger will say goodbye to about a dozen seniors after this season. Hill said that despite the rough road, this group of seniors has taught a great lesson to the incoming Tigers.
“I think they are laying the foundation for the younger class … show them how to work,” Hill said. “I told them they would be able to come back a couple of years later and see a difference, and it is going to be because they laid the foundation. These are life lessons that they can take a long ways … it is what is going to separates them from the average guy who easily gives in to situations … they are going to persevere … they’ve done that and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.