Shut-Out Should Put a Smile on Your Face

The Defensive Coordinator, Coach Charlie Drum was not pleased with the outcome after the game with Austin-Travis last season.

The reporters were getting talking points from players, when Coach Drum got close enough to the player being interviewed to tell him, “wipe that smile off your face!”

The Hawks had just given up 47 points to Austin-Travis and you could tell Coach Drum was not a happy camper after the game.

The 47 points was in the stratosphere that had not been reached since the inaugural season two years earlier. In fact, Canyon Lake had given up 47 or more points in six of the games that year.

So you can see the angst and distaste of what the score had to do with the disposition of a defensive coordinator.

The Hawks had some games last season that were just not at the level Coach Drum would want to hang up on his wall.

Lucky for the players the defense ended the year on a positive note. The team improved by 12 points per game the last four contests of the season and this same defense seemed to be performing at a much higher level.

Now, as the season starts to get into the summer months, the Hawks, are at the point of wanting to see what new heights they can achieve.

The ReSporter has given you some snippets of the Defensive Line and Defensive Backs that you can catch on our archive page and now we talk to Coach Drum to see what is in the future for this side of the ball.

It is hard for a team to stay at a high level for the whole season, and with the Austin-Travis game already being told, the Hawks also had another game where the Defense would like to have back…Navarro.

“In the Navarro game, their kids were prepared and we weren’t,” Coach Drum said succinctly.

In comparing the last two years on defense, Coach Drum stated, “The ‘09 squad had an attitude and we missed that last year. The defense two years ago became coaches on the field.”

This years team has experience but is still replacing five positions, so how quickly the players grasp the starting role will determine the extent of how the season might transpire.

“The Burnet game was our best half,” Defensive Guru Drum said talking about last year’s Bi-District game.

If you stayed for the whole game you would realize the Hawks had to hold on to have the opportunity to play another week.

“We have depth and enthusiasm and that is half the battle,” Drum continued. “We have the same type of kids and they are all excited. They want to win all their games, win district, and win in the playoffs. We talk about those a lot.”

The Defense has the opportunity with the depth and not having to play on both sides of the ball like they have in the past.

The difference in the last two years for the defense can be seen in the number of points given up in the fourth quarter.

The 2009 season the defense gave up 55 points playing one less game, while last year’s defense gave up a gaudy 113 points. The fourth quarter would have something to do with the depth and how fresh the team is playing during that stage of the contest.

This gives you an idea of how much the ‘09 Defense was on top of their game. The defense finally reached that level last season, it just took four or five games for it to take hold.

Coach Drum is driven and has dreams of shutting out their first opponent in the future. Could this be the year for such an accomplishment?

“To be as good as we have been, we need to let them (players), have the ball as much as we can,” Coach Drum stated. “They play as a team and learn how to finish.”

Hopefully if the last admonishment is realized then Coach Drum won’t have to worry about player’s facial expressions after games and the long awaited shut out will be right around the corner.