With a crushing 47-12 defeat at the hands of Potter Valley last Saturday, the Anzar Hawks will once again head on the road Friday to face King’s Christian in Lemoore at 7 p.m.
It will be the second-consecutive week the Hawks will face a brand new opponent in its second season. This week, things should be different as Anzar aims for its first win of the season and second as a program.
“We want to get the team mentally focused and ready to play football,” head coach Luis Espinoza said. “We are trying to get the kids to show up ready.”
In the opener, Anzar fell behind early and could never recover, turning the ball over four times.
“Last week, we shot ourselves in the foot,” Espinoza said. “We let the game go. We fumbled the ball. We threw interceptions. We weren’t ready to play.”
Against King’s Christian, the Hawks expect a heavy running game, which could play into the Hawks’ defensive strength.
“Watching tape, they like to run the ball a lot,” Espinoza said. “We are telling the kids to keep your responsibility and play tight to the ball. We are going to stop the run. If we defend that, we will have a football game.”
Last week, King’s Christian showed a dynamic offense in a 90-72 win over Trinity Christian. To stay close, Anzar can’t turn the ball over.
“We can’t have turnovers,” Espinoza said. “We must be able to control the football and make less mistakes. We need to keep things simple and just get one first down at a time.”
To do that, look for running backs Sam Jimenez, who rushed for 31 yards on three carries last week, and Gabriel Hatcher, 23 yards on 10 carries, to play large offensive roles. Like last week, quarterback Jeremy Cedeno’s arm could be the difference. Last week, Cedeno threw for 159 yards while going 13-for-20. It was the most passing yards in the history of the year-old of Hawks’ football.
