College football: Blugolds focus on positives after 44-point loss to UW-Stout
Oct. 4—UW-Eau Claire football coach Wesley Beschorner and cornerback Sam Schradle seem to be on the same page regarding the Blugolds' defensive performance, considering the squad's 73-29 loss to UW-Stout last Saturday and their upcoming homecoming contest this coming Saturday against UW-Whitewater. There is much work to be done, but both were pleased the team kept battling in the contest at Stout.
"We've been doing a lot of drills. We had rough tackling last week, so this week we're doing a lot of working with the sled, and with the bags and even each other, just wrapping up tackles," Schradle said.
Both coach and player indicated a solid defensive effort can make things far easier for the offense. Schradle said he and his teammates take pride in forcing opponents to resort to kicking field goals. That didn't happen much last week, when the Blue Devils scored 10 touchdowns in a rivalry victory.
"We didn't get much of a chance last week with all the explosive plays, so we've just got to work more on exploding through the gaps," Schradle said. "One thing the coaches are always telling us is to run to the ball. When we do get to the ball it's really good."
Schradle likes the effort he is seeing from his teammates but knows on solo tackles the team needs to work on just wrapping opposition up so the rest of the guys can get there to help out.
"The biggest part is using our eyes and trusting our technique," Schradle said. "We've got to trust our technique and trust what we're being taught. We just try to execute on that and hope for the best."
Beschorner, Schradle, and receiver Nick Kudick are looking forward to the homecoming atmosphere at Carson Park Saturday. All three said Carson Park is a great place to play football, and they appreciate the energy of the Blugold football fans.
"With a lot of people there, Carson Park will be loud on Saturday," Kudick said. "That's pretty much the best part of the atmosphere, the people that are there watching us; there's so many of them."
The general feeling between Schradle and Kudick was the defense limiting the opposition's scoring opportunities is one big positive to aim for.
Schradle admitted he and his teammates do not yet have a full understanding of what to expect out of the Warhawks next weekend. He and Kudick explained their hopes for ample chance to study the Whitewater squad before facing it. The Warhawks are ranked No. 3 in the nation in D3Football.com's poll.
