St. Augustine Saints 13 Patriots 40

Three words can describe this week's game against the Saints: Preparation, coaching and execution.  Our team prepared well all week in practice and studied the tendencies of what the Saints do on offense and defense.  The coaches emphasized the strong points of the Saints and worked hard with the players to put together a plan of attack.  As a coaching staff, we tell our players the field is theirs and it is up to them to execute the gameplan.

All of that came together and the Patriots got back into the win column with a 40 -13 win over the Saints. I challenged the offensive line to take the game on their shoulders and carry the team for the remainder of the season.  Melvin Mora, Chris Berkoben, Blake Liscom, Brian Tran, Nick Coffey and Josh Pelloquin anchored a running attack that was beautiful to watch.

The Patriot defense played well.  All week long we emphasized what the Saints do according to formation and with down & distance.  Jack Kurz and Brandon Brooks came up with big plays in big situations.  And if you hear us on the sideline yelling "WHOOOOOOOS", that is for safety Eric Hus whenever he makes a tackle.  (BTW, I am the president of the Eric Hus fan club)

A lot of the credit to our success is due to the hard work of the coaches and the manner in how we prepare the players each week.  With playing below our expectations the last two games, our coaches were upbeat and positive in rebuilding the confidence of the team.  We adjusted our practice schedule to be more competitive and work on the basics.

I also want to congratulate Coach Armenta on his first victory as a head coach at PHHS.  He did a great job getting the team ready for the game.

Next week we travel to Mira Mesa to play the mighty Marauders of  Mira Mesa HS.  This is an Eastern League rivalry that started my senior year back in 1979.  The Marauders have been a dominant force for many year and it will be a good gauge to see how far we have come as a team.