Chris Pardue Quotations

(Philip) not only ran hard all night but he played well defensively, too. He really had some big hits for us tonight.

Minton is really a good player. He attacks and runs to the ball really well. For a guy his size to run like that is amazing. He is the staple that holds their offensive and defensive lines together. We may have to double team him all the time, but even then it is hard to block him.

But they are more aggressive in the line and then they have Minton.

Having a week off has been good for him. He went through all the drills last week, but we held him out of contact. We have to have him healthy to make a (state title) run. We can't have him play a week, rest a week and then play. He needs to be there for us to be the best team we can be.

Our passing game was better, but our running game suffered. We have to get them both working together.

Last week he couldn't practice at all. He's a little sore, but he'll be fine.

Johnson is really a good, tough back. If you don't wrap him up, he just keeps going.

I thought our defense stepped up real big when they had to. They came up and made huge plays for us.

I thought our offensive line did an outstanding job. They opened some nice holes and made adjustments we have not been making. They played smarter and Tyler hit the seams he needed. He also made some people miss in the open field and then he finished runs when he couldn't avoid contact. It was his best game running the ball and our best game blocking.

Those linebackers really step up to the ball. They are very quick, they come after you and they hit hard.

We just couldn't stop their offense. I've got to do a better job of coaching than what I've done the last two weeks. I still think we could have played with them if we just had played better.

We played him more than we intended. He's pretty sore. We've got to have him for the long haul, so we tried to be careful with him and pick our spots to use him.

Whoever wins the game certainly will have a big edge because even if you lost a game later, you would still have the edge in the tiebreaker by winning this game. Southwestern is a good team. But Russell County is also undefeated. Winning this game doesn't mean the district race is over.

We know what Louisville Central has back and they played our tails off last year after we got a 40-0 lead. Bullitt East has already beaten them and not looked back at anybody. So they must have a heck of a team. We can't just go on cruise into the playoffs because we are going to have some tough games right away.

We knew they were a good team. But we just didn't tackle. We weren't aggressive enough. They came off the ball and just physically whipped us inside. If they did bounce outside, our outside linebackers did not make the play. It just was not a good night defensively for us.

Don't get me wrong, we still got a win. But I know, and I think the kids know, that we can play better than we played tonight.

We all have to do what it takes to be successful. We've lost one game and not played real well in the other game. Now one of two things will happen. Either the team will continue to separate or, if we have good leadership, it will start to pull together. It won't stay the same. If our seniors want to pull this team together, then we can be successful. If not, then we are in for a long game.

We had a receiver open that we didn't find in the end zone and then we busted the play on fourth down. That was a great opportunity to take the lead.

Bradley had a couple of pancake blocks and Aaron did a much better job moving his feet and staying on his blocks.

We are still feeling out some things. We might make a couple of moves and see what happens. We are still trying to find everyone's niche before we get to district play.

They run the ball well, but they also can throw it.

Danville still looks good to me. They have a very quick, athletic team. They are similar to Henry Clay talent-wise. Maybe they don't have the size of Henry Clay, but they are doing good things with their offense. They are using a lot of misdirection to slow down your pursuit. They are getting the ball to their athletes in the open field and they have a lot of guys who make plays. They look like the same old Danville to me.

Their quarterback will also run. He'll roll out like he going to pass, but it is a designed run. He can hurt you with his running. He'll throw just enough to keep you honest. But I don't think they are going to try and beat us by throwing the football.

They connected four times on third down conversions on their first drive and that's completely unacceptable. We never did slow them down.

They attacked up front, and we never got our running game going. I thought Tyler ran well, but I didn't think we blocked well. And I don't think Grant played as well as he has the first five weeks. We've got to move on offensively and do other things.

They force you to drive the ball. They are pretty sound up front and they don't let you beat them deep. They make tackles and make you put together a drive if you want to score.

They have had some close games. They just have not found a way to win them. They have not put a lot of points on the scoreboard, but I like their offense. They are moving the ball. They just are not finishing drives because of turnovers and mistakes.

They don't have the speed in the backfield of a Danville or Henry Clay, but they have good speed.

They are both solid runners. I don't know if Porter will play against us or not, but Thomas is a good back, too.

They are getting better every week. Their offensive and defensive fronts really attack you. They have a good running game. Their defense is solid.

It's kind of a committee thing for them now. If you don't keep the quarterback in the pocket, he will really hurt you running the football. We have to shut down the run completely to have a chance to win. If Danville gets their skilled guys in the open field, we are going to have a lot of problems. They don't have Turner, but they have done a great job at adapting their offense to the talent they have.

We missed the opportunity on some screen passes early to get him the ball. After that, they double covered him and that left others open. But we have to be prepared to find ways to get Seth the ball. No matter how much double covering him helps our running game or leaves other receivers open, we still have to get him the ball and make people defend the whole field.

We are trying to let some different kids play on the kickoff team, but that's the second straight game we've given up a touchdown. If not for that, we would have been up at halftime.

I challenged them all week in practice. Our defense played really well. They made tackles, and we hadn't been doing that.

Grant is getting better every game and played very well in the first half. However, he still has to get better with his decision making. He made a couple mental mistakes (on interceptions) in the second half.