The Rangers look to get the first win of their season

by: Tyler Stark

Photos taken by: Abigail Miller and Aidan Hatch

After an upsetting 35-27 loss to Tulare Western last week the Rangers are looking to bounce back in a massive way this Friday against Clovis North.  The past two weeks things have just not gone to plan for the Rangers.

• 

Between star linebacker Marcus Correia ‘22 getting injured in the first half of their first game against Centennial, and a significant amount of mistakes against Tulare Western last week things have just not come together for the team.

These results have not sat well with the Ranger players and staff, because of this practices have been amped up to a new high.

Defensive end PJ Myers ‘23 feels that this team has been working extremely hard this week and he’s very confident that’ll pay off come Friday night.

“We are hungrier than ever, we have been on our game this week, and our high intensity practices might be the key to winning this game.”

Defensive end PJ Myers

While a lot went wrong last Friday against Western, quarterback Frankie Alvarez ‘23 saw some positives. Alvarez says “A big positive I took away from last Friday was that our pass game improved. I think we’re going to build off of how we played last week but fix the bigger mistakes.” 

Star running back Karson Everett ‘22 feels that to go on the road and secure this massive win fundamentals will be key. “We need to work on our offensive blocking and defensive coverage, just basic fundamentals.” Everett also echoed Myers’ sentiment about the intense practices being a massive factor for the Rangers this week.

Mistakes have been a common point of discussion this season when talking about the Rangers team. Kolby Howard ‘22 believes that mistakes have to be cut down to beat Clovis North on Friday. Howard says “Minimizing our big mistakes is the most important thing for this week’s game. If we minimize our mistakes we have a great chance.”

• 

While there have been many mistakes from many different units on Rangers team, the secondary is a unit that is still certainly trying to find its identity. The defensive backs and cornerbacks have just not been able to make stops and play as a unit.

Defensive back Christopher Shin ‘22 says that he feels his unit has fixed those mistakes, and will be ready for Friday. Shin says “Although we have made a few mistakes, I know that we have fixed them and we have gotten better this week.”

It’s going to be very fascinating to see this secondary come out and play this week. Fans should keep an eye on what kinds of adjustments these boys make on Friday night.

One of the biggest things the Rangers have going for them this week is the fact that Clovis North is a heavy, heavy, run team. Redwood feels they have a defensive line that is ready and fit to shut down the run game of Clovis North. Linebacker Marcus Correia ‘22 says “We have a defense prepared for this team and I believe we will show out Friday night.”

This is a really big game for the Rangers, if they can pick up a win on Friday night things could finally come together for the team.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 on Friday night in Clovis. 

Tags: Redwood, redwood football, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood rangers, redwood sports, rhs, Varsity football