Last Friday night, the Industrial Cobras journeyed to El Maton for a face-off against the undefeated, 3ADII #1 ranked Tidehaven Tigers.
After Tidehaven won the coin toss and chose to receive, the game began. The Tiger offense was efficient in the first quarter, scoring two touchdowns.
“At the start of the game, we came out a little flat,” Cobra Head Football Coach Matthew Luddeke said. “I feel as a coach, we gave up some big plays early on, and we didn’t capitalize on their mistakes.”
The Tiger offense, led by Kale Russel, Bryce Sliva, and TJ Galvan had a strong showing, scoring 28 points in the first half. They were met several times by the Cobra defense, led by senior Ryan Riddle.
“One thing I think we did good on was stopping the run game,” Riddle said. “The defensive line got there quick and filled in their holes fast. Then our linebackers showed up and stayed tight to stop the runs up the middle.”
While the defense may have had success stopping the run game, Luddeke feels that the slow start affected them, too.
“We had moments that we did things well and moments that we didn’t,” Luddeke said. “I know a lot of that has to do with our fundamentals, our first steps, our reads, our keys and our executing. We didn’t start off doing that very well, but as the game went on, we got a whole lot better.”
From the offensive side of the ball, the Cobras were led by quarterback Cooper Francis, Wyatt Kurtz, Ryan Riddle, and Player of the Week Easton Larew. Francis went eight for 12, throwing 148 yards and one 65-yard pass to Larew. Looking forward to the next game against the Van Vleck Leopards, the offense is looking to improve their pass game.
“I want us to pass the ball,” Larew said. “Even though our run game is really good, I think if we start opening up the pass game then teams will have more than they can handle.”
After the slow start this week, Luddeke is ready to carry momentum all the way through next week’s game.
“I just want to see our kids come out with their hair on fire, execute from the start, first play to the last,” Luddeke said.
The Cobras (0-5) will have a showdown against the Leopards (14) at the Snake Pit on October 10. Kickoff is at 7:30.
