HHS Squadron ready to play guessing game

Published 7:34 pm Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Highland Home head coach Gregg Baker wouldn’t say his team played in last week’s 55-0 loss to New Brockton.

“They showed up,” he said. “If you don’t play four quarters, your tail whipped. We didn’t play at all from the get-go.”

Baker hopes for more from his team as they travel to Calhoun this week for region play. The Squadron is 2-2 in the region. The team beat Calhoun 63-21 last year at home.

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“This is going to be one of those games where if we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be fine,” Baker said.

Highland Home focused on better execution at this week’s practices. The team also worked on formation recognition. Baker has noticed a few tricks up Calhoun’s sleeves that could serve to confuse the Squadron.

“Calhoun plays multiple offenses,” he said. “We’ve seen wishbones, we’ve seen four quarterbacks, we’ve seen spreads, we’ve seen wings. It’s kind of a guessing game.”

In his 26 years of coaching, Baker said he has never seen a four-quarterback formation like Calhoun’s. The team literally lines up four players, all with their hands out for the ball, and snaps to someone different every time.

“It really throws you for a loop,” he said. “And they’ve got enough athletes where they can hurt you.”

Highland’s bench is not very deep, but they have moved up some promising junior varsity players. Overall, Baker says his team has come a long way this season.

“We’re not the same group who played McKenzie,” he said. “The kids have responded well and we’ve still got a shot at the playoffs.”