Apaches take on tough homecoming test

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GONZALES — Homecoming week comes a bit early due to scheduling for the Gonzales Apaches (2-0). Usually the week before Come and Take It weekend, the Apaches’ have two road games to end their non-district schedule, meaning Homecoming will be celebrated tonight at Apache Field.

Coming into town are the Geronimo Navarro Panthers (2-0), a team that won their region and was just a few wins away from a state championship. Though they graduated close to 25 seniors, experience should not be a problem for this state-contending team.

“They still have plenty of kids that were on the team that played significant roles,” Apaches’ head football coach Kodi Crane said of the Panthers. “Even though graduation did hit them, they got plenty of experience. They played 29 games in two years, that’s basically an extra season that they’d played.”

The Panthers come in with a “Nasty Slot” or Slot-T offense, a scheme the program has run under head coach Les Goad since 2007.

“They all know the system,” Crane noted. “They’ve been doing it elementary all the way up. They know what they are, they know exactly what they got to do to get the results that they need. They are very well coached, they are very well disciplined, they’re a good football team.”

Three-year starting quarterback #6 Will Eveld is the player to look out for on the Panthers. Despite throwing 13 passes — one of which that was called back on a pre-snap penalty — the senior quarterback is a threat both on the ground and over the air with his accurate passing.

“He’s their best football player, in our opinion,” Crane admitted.

The Panthers will also rely on running backs #25 Tyler Law and #35 Will Reyna, both seniors. Their offensive line is another strength, with players such as #74 Michael Gilbert, #76 Wyatt Tate and center #64 Garrett Dietert leading the way.

“This is an offense that is based on three yards and a cloud of dust,” Crane scouted. “I guarantee you that over the last four years that we’ve been here, they’ve had as many big plays as anybody with their misdirection offense. We got to do a great job of eliminating those big plays.”

Their defense can be as confusing as their offense. Running out of a 3-3 Stack — meaning three down linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs — the Panthers will do “stunt,” which is a planned maneuver where players may come at different angles than where they line up.

For the Apaches’ offense to have success, they will need to stay ahead of the chains.

“Our offense has got to eliminate negative plays,” Crane said. “We’re not a good offense at [long-down situations]. When we’re a good offense is whenever we’re ahead of the chains.”

The offensive line needs to be the strength again, getting a good push so that the Apaches can grind out first downs and keep the ball away from the Panthers.

Finishing drives will also be important. Crane believes the Apaches have dropped a total of 18 points out of three trips in the red zone. There were two tries where Gonzales failed to score and another try where they settled for a field goal.

The Apaches coaching staff believes Navarro’s stunts opens themselves up for big plays. If they can withstand the misdirection, the Gonzales offense should be able to take advantage of players being out of position which ultimately leads to staying ahead of the first-down chains.

Friday night, the Apaches are going to be bombarded by how quick the Panthers’ Nasty Slot offense can be run. It’s hard to replicate their speed in the practice field. So instead of outright stopping it right when the opening whistle blows and the teams line up for kickoff, Crane wants his athletes to withstand, then adapt.

“If we do those things: withstand the initial shock of the speed of the game, if we dominate up front with our offensive and defensive lines and we eliminate those big plays, we’ll have a chance,” Crane said.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Apache Field.

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