Cloverdale football coach wants to see consistency from Clovers

Through six weeks of high school football, Cloverdale head football coach Tyler Lotz has had an interesting dilemma each week -- what Cloverdale team is going to show up.

As his team prepares for a Friday clash against North Knox (2-4), Lotz hopes the team that shows up is focused and hungry to play for four quarters as the regular season rapidly winds down. 

"There are some things we need to clean up and make sure we play cleaner football. There's times where I don't know what team we are going to get. There's times we walk out there and our kids are ready to go, and other times, they aren't. It's been a challenge this year. Hopefully, this Friday, they step in ready to go. As we play these better teams these last few weeks and into the sectional, we have to play to our best potential. We are too up and down and have too many seniors to be playing like that. Heading into sectional, it is something we have to fix if we want to be able to make a run at a sectional championship," Lotz told The Putnam County Post. 

The Clovers dismantled Eastern Greene 39-14 last week, improving to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Southwest Conference. 

Heading into the contest, Lotz had preached the importance of a fast start for his team, and they obliged. 

Cloverdale moved the ball down the field on its opening possession before a fumble pushed the Clovers out of scoring position. And, on its second possession, Cloverdale again pushed the football deep into Eastern Greene territory before back-to-back sacks kept the Clovers out of the end zone. 

"Going into halftime, we were not happy about where the score was at. We weren't trying to run the score up by any means, but we left a lot of points out there and felt like the halftime score wasn't where we wanted it to be. We have to get better and play to our potential," Lotz said. 

Cloverdale was paced by running back Ashton Evans, who rushed for 205 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, while Jace Gardner reeled in five catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Marcus Boyd was 10-of-20 for 232 and two touchdowns through the air and added another score on the ground. 

"Ashton is a good, physical football player, and he is not afraid to hit someone. He laid the boom a little bit, and he had a great game. He does it all for us. We have been challenging Jace to get better, and he stepped up big time Friday and accepted the challenge. Week by week Marcus continues to grow, and we go as far as he will take us," Lotz said. 

Defensively, the Clovers got solid performances from several younger players who saw their first varsity action, including Brennan Tancak. 

"He is usually a JV player, but after our North Davies game, we were upset with some of our players and their lack of effort, so we put some young guys out there. We started three sophomores and started a freshman, all of whom were JV players. They all came out and played well, weren't scared, put their nose on the football and made tackles. Brennan will start again for us this week. He did a good enough job to keep that position," Lotz said. 

On Friday, Lotz and his staff will honor and recognize the program's seniors during Senior Night against North Knox. 

Lotz said the seniors were part of the group that helped turn the Cloverdale football program around. 

"We had a lot of seniors this year, and not all have played since their freshman year. Regardless, we will miss the kids. This core group we have had all four years is a special group. I'd have to check, but they will probably graduate as the winningest football players from Cloverdale. They've had a good four years and have been part of the turnaround process. They are a good group of kids that I will miss, and I am excited to see where they will go. They committed since they were freshmen, bought into the weight room and our strongest guys are in this class. They continue to want to win, care about football and that is hard to find in Cloverdale sometimes," Lotz said. 

Next up is a North Knox team that has played some tough competition and comes in fresh off a 49-0 win over Princeton. The Warriors average 27 points per game and are allowing just under 28 points. 

Lotz said North Knox is better than its record indicates.

"They have lost to two top 15, top 20 teams. They are a good group, well coached and a physical football team. They are going to possess some challenges to us and we better be ready to play Friday. I promise this is a team can come in and beat us if we aren't ready to play, and I hope the guys really listened to that and I hope we are ready to play Friday," Lotz said. 

To get a win, Lotz said his team must do two things.

"We have to clean up the penalties and we have to win the turnover battle. We need to be more consistent. Our coaches have talked about it all season. We have to get everything working together and be more excited. I am excited to have the opportunity and be at home again," Lotz said.