JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Excitement should be running high tonight for Jackson’s homecoming contest with Green River. The Broncs are coming off a huge comeback win over archrival Star Valley last week, and looking to build on that and put on a show for the hometown fans tonight as the second week of conference play gets underway.
But one thing Coach David Joyce would like to see out of his kids tonight is less emotion, not more. Harnessing emotion for a pro athlete is difficult enough, for most 17-year-olds, channeling excitement while maintaining focus is a tough ask.
Too often last week, the Broncs players showed signs in the first half they were too jacked up.
“We knew they would try to run but we knew we could stop the run,” Joyce said. “That leaves counter-plays and those worked against us early because we had problems with weak side containment, staying home, and players out of position. Guys were just too amped up and chasing the ball because of the environment.”
Busted coverage, dropped passes, misalignments—all symptoms of a team playing a little high on adrenaline. When the boys settled down, took the halftime to focus and get angry about being down 22, they played better, obviously, in the second half of last week’s thrilling win.
But games like last week’s give coaches early graying. They would rather their team execute the plays like they do in practice. And when you do that, and you have the weapons Jackson has on both sides of the ball, good things will happen.
“Against Green River, I think the biggest challenge is not so uch what the Wolves do but trying to get our guys right for homecoming following last week’s game. It’s an emotional roller coaster, and you just don’t want to be always playing on emotion like that,” Joyce said.
So, while the crowd may be hyped tonight, Joyce would rather see the boys in black under control.
Green River
If things go as planned, the Wolves (0-4) should not give Jackson (4-1) much trouble. Green River’s offense is pretty one-dimensional. They go as Bracken Miller goes. The junior running back—at 5’11” 185 lbs—gets a majority of the touches, running out of a variety of offensive sets.
Quarterback Caleb Lake is a poised junior now in his second year running the offense. He will throw only occasionally, usually on the move rolling to one side or the other.
Defensively, Green River likes to stuff the box. They switch around from a 3-4 to 4-3 set. But expect 7-8 players, or more, within 10 yards of the ball on most plays. That should give Sadler Smith a lot of options over the top should he wish to take shots.
Joyce hopes his team gets going early—“We gotta stop living on ‘Jackson Time,’” he said of slow starts—and maybe get to look at some substitution personnel packages in the second half. For the Broncs, now entering the heart of conference play, it’s about finetuning what’s in the playbook.
“We are still trying to figure out what we do well and what we are not good at,” Joyce said. “There are certain plays that work one week and not the next. We are really focusing now on getting our game better, improving what we do.”
Green River vs. Jackson at William T. McIntosh Stadium. Kickoff at 6pm. Coverage on KZ95 and SVI Sports Network.
