DANVILLE — Even with the many complex things in football, it all comes down to the fundamentals. The Danville High football team is still in the process of that and want to improve in the last three weeks of the season.
“This week is still about getting better fundamentally,” Danville head coach Marcus Forrest said. “Being able to block, tackle, throw, catch, cover the person you are supposed to and block the person you have to block. If we can get those fundamentals down, we give ourselves an opportunity.”
Against Champaign Central last week, the Vikings performed well on the first play of the game when D’Mario Jackson ran the opening kickoff 90-yards for a 7-0 lead, then the mental mistakes started to pop up in the 36-14 defeat.
“Last week, we had mental mistakes and things that went wrong at the wrong time,” Forrest said. “It was a confidence thing as we jumped out in getting the return. We had a missed assignment and they blocked a punt and got a safety and then they scored and it was only 8-7, but they felt like they were down 40-7. For me and the other coaches, we made them realize that even thought things may go bad, doesn’t mean that they will all go bad. There is a way to understand that and it is a task with new kids and inexperienced kids.”
Another highlight last week was in the fourth quarter, when Jayden Rowell caught a 29-yard pass from Aidan Henderson. For the senior, it was a big highlight.
“It was good. I was glad I got one. I was waiting for it all game and I didn’t know if I was going to get the ball or not, so I was happy it came my way,” Rowell said. “I wanted to come out as a win but unfortunately we didn’t play hard and Central wanted it more than us, but that touchdown made me happy since it was last homecoming and I was proud of that.”
Normal Community is the last opponent of Danville’s three-game homestand on Friday and the Ironmen have scored at least 50 points in three of the last four games with their only loss being a 28-17 loss to Kankakee on Sept. 19.
“They know who they are and they are consistent,” Forrest said. “They lost to a generally ranked team so it is not like they lost to an unknown team. To watch them and see them get better after that, they are a program where if they lose some, they build on others. It is based on their program and the way they are coached and the ability to buy into anything. It is what I see and what I known since the early 2000’s. They are a tough, fundamental team that will tackle well and are physical, so they present a problem for us.”
“We can compete with every team if we play hard and have good effort,” Rowell said. “It is going to be a hard game because they have been a good team and we haven’t beaten them since 2014. We have to play with effort and do everything right and we can come out with a win.”
No matter what happens on Friday, Forrest said the learning is important for the seniors and the younger players.
“Even thought they have had some tough situations, they are fighting and battling,” Forrest said. “It is not a matter of not wanting to do well, it is a matter of growing and learning. In some situations, some see as a year away, but I see things as doing it now. They are going through situations that will prepare them for the future and for those that graduate, we want them to have success.
“This is not a season where it is lost, because we have been able to learn every week and show that we are not overmatched or inferior, it is a matter of getting things better fundamentally. It is hard to see that on Friday, but when they come in to watch film on Monday, they see what they need to do to learn to grow. If they get it, they can see a lot of success.”
The game starts at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on WDAN-AM 1490.