A week after their season-opening trip to Cullowhee, N.C., the Shorter College Hawks are giving it their best to bring meaning and purpose to it all.
Their first game against an NCAA Division I opponent ended with a 35-0 loss to Western Carolina, the first time Shorter had been shutout in a game since they started playing football in 2005.
But the score was not the biggest thing the NAIA-member Hawks brought back with them when they returned to Rome.
“We certainly found out things that we need to improve upon,” Shorter head coach Phil Jones said.
“We’ve tried to be sure to see everything we can and do the things that we need to get better.”
So with no regrets and the rest of their 11-game schedule ahead of them, Shorter is digging to get to the core of their mistakes and make sure that when they take the field again on Sept. 13 to face LaGrange they’ll be ready.
“The coaches have done a good job going over film with (the players) repeatedly,” Jones said of how they are diving into their practice.
“We’ve gone back to work and, right now, I feel we’re making progress.”
Western Carolina’s speed and size did not sit well with the Hawks, despite their refusal to give up displayed by a second half defensive effort that was one of a handful of bright spots for Shorter.
Saturday, the Catamounts visit ACC power Florida State and will meet a pair of former Greater Rome standouts in Seminole starting center Ryan McMahon and starting punter Shawn Powell. Both were All-Area standouts at Darlington.
While some would feel not having a game immediately after such a lopsided loss would weigh heavy on a team’s mind, Jones feels his players have done quite the opposite.
“It depends on how you react to it, but based on our practice this week, I think it’s good,” Jones said. “Instead of having to prepare for someone else we can go back and work on ourselves.”
Against LaGrange, Shorter’s lone in-state rival, the Hawks will look to defend their stake in the Governor’s Cup after defeating the Panthers last season at Barron Stadium.
“Our focus will be to come out and eliminate mistakes,” Jones said. “We’ve got to sustain our drives on offense and score.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to utilize our kicking game to back people up and put our defense in good position.”
With veteran kicker Lukas Gonzalez averaging 47 yards on eight punts against Western Carolina, the former Model standout looks to be as much of a weapon as any of Shorter’s offensive or defensive players.
Unfortunately, the Hawks’ opening game did have one repercussion as starting quarterback Drew Elrod developed “turf toe” shortly after the beginning of the contest on Western Carolina’s artificial playing surface.
“He’s not full speed yet but I think he will be for next week,” Jones said.
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