Coach: We will try to fix things that are very fixable

Despite scoring just once in last week’s season debut, the Shiner St. Paul Cardinals understand their mistakes on the field are “very fixable,” according to head coach Jake Wachsmuth.

“Some of the things that we did were on us, not so much what [Yorktown] made us do,” he said. “That’s pretty typical, I guess, when you have some kids playing new spots, quite a few kids playing a lot for the first time.”

Piecing everything together was a storyline for the Cardinals this preseason. And it showed in their 34-7 loss against Yorktown last Friday.

“They had 400 yards of offense, but they ran 45 plays and they got most of that yardage on seven or eight plays, which means we’re giving up too many big plays,” Wachsmuth explained.

Despite the youthful inexperience, Wachsmuth is certain the team can learn from their mistakes.

“We can fix it going forward, maybe not all this week,” he said.

The Cardinals are set to take on Victoria St. Joseph, a team that runs a spread on offense, and usually a 50 look, though sometimes a 3-4, on defense.

The strength will be the skill players, though the offensive line isn’t one to overlook.

Meanwhile, on the defense, St. Joseph will want to utilize their faster athletic kids through their odd front.

The key for St. Paul is to finish their offensive drives. Last week, the Cardinals used the entire first quarter to drive from their own 7-yard line to Yorktown’s 10, but were unable to punch it in.

“I think we’ll still be able to move the ball this week,” Wachsmuth said, “[just have to] finish those drives up.”

Defensively, those big plays on critical downs are the focus. Yorktown converted on long third and fourth-down situations.

“I don’t expect us to shut a team out right now,” Wachsmuth said, “but I know we definitely can eliminated those big plays.”

The game is at home in Shiner, with kickoff scheduled at 7:30 p.m.