Each outing has been better than the last for Centralia football this summer.
To cap off a busy week and summer, the Panthers played in the fifth annual HIGskin Classic on July 30 in Moberly. …
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Each outing has been better than the last for Centralia football this summer.
To cap off a busy week and summer, the Panthers played in the fifth annual HIGskin Classic on July 30 in Moberly. Centralia had scrimmages against Moberly, Southern Boone and Boonville.
Centralia held its Black Shirt Camp all week leading up to its intersquad action in Moberly. Head coach Tyler Forsee said among the camps and other outings this summer, his team was at its best.
“All three levels competed,” Forsee said. “That’s what I want. We’re not going to win every snap, but I want us to compete like we’re going to. We had a great summer. I’m always saying this, but I’m blessed to have really good kids.”
Forsee said Centralia played in scrimmages in Higginsville earlier this summer and told them that was the best they looked at levels. After Thursday, he said the HIGskin Classic was the best they have looked at all levels.
This is clearly a sign of improvement, Forsee said, and he was glad it happened against a variety of offenses. Rather than seeing Centralia’s offense all the time, the opponents on Thursday presented different challenges for the defense.
“Running against our offense is kind of boring for a defense because it’s all so close and we know the calls,” Forsee said. “It’s nice to go against some spread teams, we saw a wing-T and you see different offenses.”
The varsity, junior varsity and freshman squads each had 10, eight and six plays against each school. There were plenty of opportunities to gain experience before Centralia returns to Moberly for a jamboree on August 21 and then opens the season at Mexico.
“Our defensive backs did a really good job not just in coverage but in making tackles in the open field,” Forsee said. “Our linebackers made good reads, and our defensive line needs to continue getting their pads down but thought they did a good job of working on the line and reading their blocks.
“On offense, we ran the ball well, and that starts with all those guys up front. We got a good push off the ball. If we can do that, we’re going to win a good amount of games.”
Centralia has seven straight winning seasons and is coming off a 10-2 campaign. The Panthers are in a good spot currently, and Forsee said they can be a “tough and competitive” team yet again. They just need to work on some things before the season begins.
“We’re going to focus on our special teams early on because we really haven’t given that a whole lot of time,” Forsee said. “Special teams are special because they can win or lose you a game.”
