The Fannin County High School football program hosted Murphy High School, McMinn Central High School and Copper Basin High School June 11 for it’s annual seven-on-seven event.
Rebel Head Coach David Nichols got his first opportunity to see his team compete against other football teams. He was pleased with the energy, passion and character the Rebels showed offensively and defensively.
One of the biggest offensive takeaways for Nichols was against McMinn. “They had some success offensively early on, and our guys, mentally, it didn't affect them. They kept their head up and they kept competing and kept supporting each other and lifting each other up, and we finished very strong,” he said.
The Rebels made a lot of spectacular catches. “In the first 15 minutes, there were at least four highlight reel catches, and that was fun to watch. We got started fast. I always tell our kids a recipe for success is start fast and finish strong. Anytime we do that, I'm pretty pleased,” Nichols said.
Nichols said the routine plays like short passes go a long ways too. “I tell our kids all the time to win big games, you don't have to make a ton of spectacular plays. You just have to make the routine plays consistently and eventually those routine plays that you're consistently making that go early in the game for three, five, and six yards eventually start breaking loose and becoming bigger gains as the game goes on,” he said.
He added that Fannin’s ability to just basically pitch and catch today was something he was very pleased with.
Nichols said the defense is learning a new scheme and that progressed. “I was very pleased with what I saw. My number one thing is we're going to make mistakes, but we have to make them at full speed and we have to compete."
Nichols said communication is a priority right now defensively. He wants to make sure they are making the right calls on the field and making the right adjustments.
“We have a saying of we want obnoxious communication on defense. We were talking, but we weren't communicating. There's a difference between talking and communicating,” he said.
The Rebels will continue to focus on fundamentals, ball security, being able to pitch and catch, consistent play up front and consistent offensive line play throughout the rest of the summer.
"For us to be able to win the games we want to win, we have to be great in all phases and we have to be able to throw the ball, catch the ball, and run the ball. Just continuing to be consistent across the board in all areas is going to be our focus moving forward,” Nichols said.