Trying to predict the success or failure of a certain athletic program at the start of the season can be done by anyone, but how much credit someone’s words actually merit or if those predictions can actually be trusted is a whole new ball game.
However, when you have someone like East Bay Indians varsity football coach Bryan Thornton with 15 years of coaching experience under his belt who says that his boys have a great chance of bringing home the district title, people might pay attention.
That, of course, does not mean that coaches like Thornton do not make mistakes or are ever wrong. But it does mean that the experience has some weight and both his players as well as neighboring schools should mind what is being said.
Facing its first district game of the 2008-09 season against Brandon with a 2-1 record, the Indians had everything to gain. Just hours before the game, Thornton admitted that to win, his boys must avoid the mistakes and not allow the turnovers that had plagued the team during the first three games of the current season.
“We have to stop making mistakes and letting turnovers cost us the games,” Thornton said.
While East Bay did beat Brandon 18-17, proving to be one of the night’s best games, it was not without fumbles and key penalties; the very things Thornton had hoped to avoid.
But this head coach knows his game and the sport he has been teaching for a long time. Trailing 17-3 in the third quarter, the Indians were ready to make some changes on the scoreboard.
After a touchdown by Chaz Burrows, the Indians lined up for a point, after which, due to a costly mistake on the part of the Eagles, turned into a two-point conversion by Andre Simpson placing East Bay within six. After making good on a gift-fumble by recovering the ball on the Eagle’s 13 yard line with less than four minutes left on the clock, East Bay scored on a five-yard run.
Happy with the win and confident of a good season, Thornton is hopeful that his team will get better as the season goes on.
For more information about the East Bay Varsity Football Program, please visit www.highschoolsports.net or www.maxpreps.com.
