JACKSON -- After his team's loss to Fairmont last Friday, Trojans football coach Brad Grimmius knows his team has a lot of work to do if they want to get their first win this week against Jackson County Central.
"The two big things we have to improve on are blocking and tackling," Trojans coach Brad Grimmius said. "We didn't tackle very well. At times we blocked all right, but we missed some key assignments with this offense and that isn't going to get it done.
"The big thing we had to do this week is back it up and get back to fundamentals with tackling and blocking."
The Trojans took a big blow in warmups before the Fairmont game when Turner Hagen went down with a dislocated shoulder. The loss of Hagen has forced Grimmius to make some lineup changes as well as rely on younger, more inexperienced players to step up to help the team.
"It is a big blow, with [Hagen] being a captain, two-way player and three-year starter," Grimmius said. "So those are some big shoes to fill right before the game. We had to move Zach Kempema from running back down to guard for us.
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"We have other people stepping up that weren't starting last week who will get an opportunity this week."
The key to getting a win for the Trojans will be the play of their offensive line and their ability to tackle on defense.
"The key is getting back to blocking and tackling for us," Grimmius said. "If we don't get back to that, JCC is a very strong team, very athletic team. They are big up front and they come out off the ball and they are going to hit you."
Another challenge Worthington will face Friday is the multi-faceted offense the Huskies will use throughout the game.
"We have to game plan from anything from wishbone to no-back, which is a unique thing as a coach," Grimmius said. "As a coach, you don't have to defend that very often. That is what we have to try and shut down on defense."
For the Trojans to come away with a win, they will need every player on the field to step up their play.
"I think it is all 11 on offense and all 11 on defense who will have to come to play this week," Grimmius said. "We didn't carry out our fakes very well and at times we didn't block well. And we didn't have the great footwork from our quarterback at times."
One thing Grimmius made sure his team focused on this week in practice was focusing on each player's individual assignments.
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"It is Week 1, Game 1, but we have to have those 11 step up," Grimmius said. "We focused this week also on worrying about what you have to do and not what everyone else has to do. Defensively, we got zero pressure on the quarterback up front.
"It all goes hand-in-hand. We just need to play a much better football game to have a chance here against JCC."
The Trojans head to JCC today to take on the Huskies at 7 p.m. in Jackson.
Daily Globe Reporter Jordan Willi
may be reached at 376-7335.
