Looking ahead

When Ville Platte High traveled to Northside High School this past Friday for their spring contest, head coach Jorie Randle was looking for players that were willing to step up and fill the shoes of some big time players lost from this year’s senior class.
“It will be hard to replace those guys from last year,” said Randle. “But, that is what the spring is for. What we were trying to accomplish this spring is to try and get as many players some experience and find out how much more we need to work in the summer and fall and see who has matured from last season.”
Against Northside, neither squad could move the football with much authority, as no one found the end zone in the game.However, Randle saw a number of positives from his squad.
“On the defensive side of the ball, I thought we had really good effort,” stated Randle. “I thought the defensive line did a great job. I think what we will be looking for on defense in the fall is a consistent inside linebacker and another defensive end. We also need to shore up the defensive backfield. I didn’t think we did a bad job against the pass game, but we have some young guys back there that need some more work.
Offensively, Randle knows his team will be very young this season.
“It is going to take sometime offensively,” commented Randle. “On the line, we are just going to have to work on making sure we know our rules. Our running backs are still learning. It will take some more live situations for them to be able to have better vision finding the holes. All of those things will come with experience.”
Ville Platte will be hard at work this summer, going Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in the weight room. Wednesdays will be designated for seven-on-seven competition.