By Rob Ludwig
Special to the Daily Sun
Corsicana —
If the Navarro Bulldogs did not know how their coach felt about their play in the season opener, they found out quickly upon their return to Corsicana.
Navarro Coach Nick Bobeck taught his team a simple lesson that talent is negated by lack of effort with back-to-back live practices earlier this week in preparation for Saturday’s 1 p.m. home opener against Georgia Military.
Navarro lost its season opener for the first time in three years last Thursday with a mistake-strewn 16-10 defeat against Butler, Kan.
Play the same way against the historically solid Georgia Military team and the result will be the same, Bobeck warned his charges during hard-hitting practices Monday and Tuesday.
“We made mistakes that would not happen if we did not have better effort,” Bobeck said. “We simply did not play with the level of effort needed to beat a great program like Butler. We made mistakes that just should not have happened. We gave (Butler) the football game.”
Bobeck saw the malaise sweep over his team in the first period and it never dissipated. DePauldrick Garrett rushed for a game-high 145 yards on only 16 carries, but the rest of the Bulldog offense sputtered all night. Twice Navarro erased chances deep in Butler territory with a combination of bad snaps or fumbles, once leaving Navarro with a fourth-and-goal from the 37.
Navarro fumbled seven times against Butler, most in the center-to-quarterback exchange. A couple of times it was center Matt Goetz whose shotgun snaps were fundamentally challenged. The rest of the time quarterback Roddy Green watched the ball sail through his hands.
“You could see what was happening and it started to compound on itself,” Bobeck said. “You try to correct those things during the heat of the moment, but we just didn’t get it done. It seemed like we just couldn’t get ourselves right all night. We’re a young team and it showed.”
Defensively, it appeared the Bulldogs were dominant, allowing the usually potent Butler ground game to only 1.5 yards per attempt and 188 total yards. But the statistics were misleading, Bobeck said.
“A lot of the guys thought they played well, but they did not,” he said. “The effort we need play after play just was not there. We’ve struggled with that all through our early workouts and it showed again the other night.
“We did not have one player who graded out above 70 the other night and our grading includes effort. Last year, we would have the entire offensive and defensive lines grade out over 70 and sometimes most of the starters. That is the missing ingredient for us right now.”
The Bulldogs had better get themselves righted in a hurry. Georgia Military enters the game with a chip on its shoulder after losing the last six meetings between the two teams.
“If we want to be a successful football team, we had better be prepared to give a great effort in every game,” he said. “Georgia Military has too many talented players for us to come into this game complacent.
“We’ve got the talent. It’s time to match that with effort.”
New players to see time: Navarro will get an infusion of talent on both sides of the ball for Saturday’s home opener.
After veteran signal-caller Roddy Green struggled at times in the season-opening loss to Butler, Kan., the Bulldogs will utilize freshman quarterback Adrian Nelson early and often against Georgia Military.
Green completed just over 50 percent of his passes and was troubled by ball-handling issues that led to more than 80 yards in losses.
Green will get the start, but the tall, lanky southpaw Nelson will get a shot to move the Bulldog offense.
"I've already told him that he will play and he will play in the first quarter," said Navarro Coach Nick Bobeck. "We just weren't getting the ball to our receivers in a timely manner against Butler. We also took a couple of sacks that weren't necessary. We can and will do better at the quarterback position this week."
Nelson (6-4, 195) zinged a pair of long touchdown passes to fellow frosh Jordan Jolly in the final scrimmage before the season started. A Houston Bellaire graduate, Nelson spent the summer working with Navarro receivers and Bobeck likes his upside despite a steep freshman learning curve.
University of Arkansas double-signee Calvin Barnett (6-3, 295) will be on the field Saturday after being certified by the NJCAA earlier this week.
A Tulsa native who signed with Arkansas over Oklahoma State, Barnett was ranked as the No. 13 defensive tackle recruit in 2010.
Navarro started the fall camp thin on experience on the defensive front after graduating six to Division I universities. Although Longviewís Bubba Vactor has been a surprise up front, Barnett's arrival provides depth and quality along the line.
"He's as good as advertised," Bobeck said of Barnett. "He'll play on Saturday, but he's getting himself in football shape. He has the potential to be a very good football player."
