October 27, 2015

Ken Sparks Press Conference: Pre-Limestone

The following is a written transcript from Ken Sparks's weekly press conference.

Ken Sparks Press Conference

Pre-Limestone

10-27-15

SPARKS: Well, Limestone has some good athletes. They are somewhat unpredictable as far as game-to-game about the things they have done this year, and they have been very successful doing some of them. They have played a bunch of people close and all they are looking for is a good resume maker, and all that would be is to beat Carson-Newman. We will get a great effort from them so the key for us, as always, is a good effort for us and to play the way we are capable of playing. We need to continue to grow and develop and do the things that only we can do and that is to challenge ourselves to improve. It's one of those scary games from a psychological fact. It's one of those entitlement games, if you're not careful. We are entitled to win because we won last week and etc., etc. If we are not careful, those entitlement things can always get you in trouble.

Q1: Bobby James, their head coach, went there from Wingate before there, he won three straight games against you as a defensive coordinator for the Bulldogs, what sticks out to you about those defenses from the 2010-2012 Wingate teams?

SPARKS: Well, usually, they are a gambling type defense that makes a lot of adjustments from week to week. Against his defenses, there are a lot of different type of adjustments, and that's what we expect this time, so we have to go into the game expecting to read ourselves into a good play. We don't have to necessary doing a whole lot of correct preparation and we have to read ourselves into making a good play. That's what an option does for you if you'll read it, which we haven't been doing a very good job of. It will be a good challenge for us.

Q2: Region rankings came out yesterday. Eagles are sixth, which means you'd be in the playoffs if the season ended today. How do you take that ranking from here on down the road?

SPARKS: They don't mean a whole lot right now. It's kind of like preseason rankings and the fact is, with three games left, that kind of ranking may be a little bit more dangerous than the preseason rankings to the psych of the young people and the old coaches. You earn what you get and we have a lot of season left against three teams that's capable of beating us, but at least we know now that it is in our hands. It's up to us. If we win out, we are in the playoffs and then the second 2015 season starts if you make it to the playoffs. Then you start it all over to see what you do with that.

Q3: Limestone has kind of rotated quarterbacks with Whitney getting the bulk of the load the last few games. What sticks out to you about that 6-5, 250 pound hauls?

SPARKS: I hope our little boys can tackle that guy. It's not just him, though, they have some good athletes. They are building a good program with athletes and we are going to have to lineup and try to be good blockers and tacklers, as always. We have to take care of the football. We had only the third turnover for the offense last week and it cost us a touchdown. You can't give up touchdowns against good football teams.

Q4: You mentioned how unpredictable they are. How does that effect how you game plan and prepare for this week?

SPARKS: What that means is that your basic stuff better be good, but to be a good football team, you have to have something that you're known for. You have to have a defense that you can line up in and make adjustments out of that's solid. That way the defense coordinator doesn't have to sit there and hope that what he is calling the right defense. You can call a defense and make adjustments, and if you play good fundamentals with assignment football, you'll be okay. The same goes for offense, you have to be known for something, and we are known for the option. You have to be able to, post snap, after the ball is snapped, decide where the attack is and who carries the ball. Our basic offense is built to handle anything that anybody throws at us as long as we execute it.

Q5: How proud are you with the senior group in how they took control of this team after the loss at L-R, and how they have bounced back for back-to-back big wins?

SPARKS: Well, I think it is great and we don't have many seniors. It's mostly just a group of kids that have taken on ownership of the improvements we have made. They are sharing a dream with each other. That part has been good and the win Saturday was certainly another stepping stone to what we want to do every week in getting better.

Q6: It's your final road trip of the season and it's to a place that no one has ever been before. How do you expect your team to handle a new scenario like this against a team that no one has ever seen before?

SPARKS: I hope that we can with some maturity and character. When we watched the video of the facility, evidently they have had a few games in the mud. Of course it is a high school that the junior varsity and freshman teams all use. It's that Gaffney High School stadium and the field has taken a beating. There isn't any grass on it, so if it is raining, we are going to be in the quagmire. It ought to add a dimension that we haven't seen before.

Q7: A couple of weeks ago, we were talking about how De'Andre Thomas had yet to kind of find that stride. Well, it seems like he is starting to vastly improve. At the beginning of the year, you called him your hero, how do you think he has responded over the past couple of weeks?

SPARKS: Very well. He still is making some mistakes that he shouldn't be making as a senior. Maybe as a freshman and sophomore, but I don't even think he made as many then as he is now. But I'll tell you one thing, there is nothing wrong with his heart. There is nothing wrong with his character. There is nothing wrong with his want to and he has an unbelievable fighting sprite. The thing you can count on for Dre is that if there is something wrong, he is going to get it fixed and that is what we are counting on.

Q8: Carson Wise brought home another South Atlantic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honor. What does he mean to the team and how has his transition been into the Eagle program?

SPARKS: Well, good. Carson is quiet and he is unassuming. His holder is a completely different story, but he is good people. He is made out of good stuff and is talented. He has had some injuries that have hampered him some, but we will see some great things out fo that little rascal before he gets out of Carson-Newman.

Q9: You kind of alluded to it earlier about the psychological aspect of a game like this, how you manage your players who are coming off a big overtime win, over a nationally ranked opponent, and knowing you have North Greeneville looming on the horizon? How do you ensure that they are focused solely on Limestone?

SPARKS: You count on them to be mature enough to think correctly. This is all about 'stinkin thinkin.' If you get beat for 'stinkin thinkin' then shame on you. I am hoping that we have enough maturity on our team to deal with that. We have coaches on our staff that's not going to let them get too far off line. It's still a character thing. That's all you got to say about that.

Q10: It feels like this team has that.

SPARKS: I think so, I do. Saturday was a very special time to see them celebrate together. Saturday was a great example of 'if your breathing, you're fighting.' They refused to quit fighting. There was two or three times during that ballgame to where momentum could have taken charge of tat thing. Of course, we don't believe in momentum because it's a psychological thing. I know it happens, but it shouldn't happen if the same 11 people are playing the same 11 people. Our guys refused to let mental things control their physical stuff Saturday and that was very impressive to me.

-CN-