The Evans’ faithful were out in full force Friday night with the student section buzzing and the band rocking to set the tone for a great atmosphere.
Lakeside being less than 10 minutes away traveled well and matched the energy, so even before kickoff you could “feel it in the air tonight.” The rainy weather put a slight damper on things, but that didn’t matter.
Then there was the intrigue of the game itself – two cross-town, in-county rivals, undefeated and vying for early-season region supremacy.
Despite all that, the game didn’t go as planned for Evans as it fell, 21-0, in its region opener against rival Lakeside, in a game that Evans was deemed 12-point favorites. It stung because it was the second-worst loss for the Knights in series history, the worst coming in 2010, 30-0.
A few days removed from the loss, here’s some deeper analysis of last Friday’s game, including lessons the Knights’ head coach hopes his team learns from it ahead of its next challenge.
Evans’ sputtering offense
“We just didn’t play good enough,” said Evans coach Barrett Davis after the loss. “We didn’t sustain drives, we were all over the place, and they played a better game than us tonight.”
The Knights had their worst showing on offense of the season as they were shutout and held to 166 yards of total offense, most of it coming on the final drive of the game. They were never able to get in a rhythm, whether it be from slipping on the wet turf or penalties, Evans shot itself in the proverbial foot all night long.
As you can tell by the final score, the Panther defense came ready to play, never letting the Knights’ playmakers get into space. Evans quarterback EJ Hogan — brilliant in both of the Knights’ 30-plus point performances to open the season — struggled for the first time against Lakeside as he could never get the Knights’ rushing attack untracked.
When he dropped back to pass, he had heavy pressure for most of the night. Add in rain to the mix, and you don’t get a good outcome.
“They weren’t doing anything fancy. They did exactly what they showed on film,” Davis said about Lakeside’s stingy defense. “They slanted the line and stacked the box and forced us to try and beat them by running the football. They did a better job than us [Friday night].”
Spinning the positive
The Knight’s defense didn’t play badly, but it wasn’t their best performance as they had a tough time tackling one of the best players in our area, Ty Jones from Lakeside. Every time it seemed like they had him bottled up, he’d slip out and make something happen.
Evans allowed one long drive that resulted in a touchdown, but the others came on a busted screen play that went for over 70 yards and a punt return touchdown by Jones as well. The 5-foot-9 senior signal caller also made a pair of strong tackles toward the end of the game from his cornerback spot on defense.
The good thing is, it is highly unlikely that the Knights will see another playmaker like Jones, at least for the rest of the regular season, and if they do, they’ll have experience against that type.
Though this defeat was tough and this hurts the Knights because it’s a region game, Davis made it clear to his team that the season isn’t over because of one loss. Evans has seven more opportunities to right this wrong and be where it wants to be.
“This is a part of life, and sometimes you’re going to get knocked down,” Davis said. “But it’s how you respond. You’re not going to become a man by pouting, you have to do something about it.”
Coaching forward
This is one of my favorite things about coach Davis — his ability to spin anything positively and leading these players to becoming men rather than just football players. He is a phenomenal coach, but an even better guy who is always willing to talk to the media and face the pressure regardless of the outcome.
Looking ahead, Evans (2-1) will get a chance to bounce back Friday as it goes on the road to play a tough Brunswick (2-1) team which started off region play tonight with a win over Effingham County, 42-20 Friday.
Evans and Brunswick have played four times in school history with all four wins going to the Pirates. Last year’s result was a 35-7 loss for the Knights, but they’ll look to rewrite history and pull off a win.
