DICKINSON - John Snelson admitted that the past week had been hard.
A 37-0 season-opening loss to Atascocita on the road was "as tough as we've had", the veteran coach admitted. Despite being beaten down, held to just 122 total yards and zero trips into the endzone, that didn't deflate the offensive or defensive units.
Instead, it fueled them.
On Friday, Dickinson (1-1) regained a bit of its offensive rhythm behind the running of John Solomon, while the defense pitched a shutout en route to a 14-0 victory over Ridge Point.
"Offensively, there wasn’t a whole lot of confidence," Snelson said after last week. "For those kids to believe in each other and their coaching staff and lock in, even though we weren’t clean, we were much better versus a quality defense.”
Ridge Point (0-2) has now lost to Austin Westlake and Dickinson to start the 2022 season.
When Snelson and staff went back and turned on the film from that Atascocita game, the one thing that was glaring was the fact of people trying to do other people's jobs.
The step forward from Week 1 to Week 2 was clear on Friday night. Solomon was able to run more, while incorporating Missouri-commit Marquis Johnson into the offense more. De'Rion Crooms also saw a more active role in the offense, while the offensive line held up to allow Solomon time to work.
“You ask any coach, the biggest improvement that a team will make in the course of a season is from week one to week two," Snelson said. "Because you have so many brand-new guys, the first week sometimes something happens. But they’re just more comfortable.”
VYPE/@KPRC2 Player of the Game: @DickinsonFB QB @johnsolo102 talks with us after the big win. Had some big runs and throws in the 14-0 victory. #txhsfb @KPRC2RandyMc @vjglover2023 @derioncrooms @tredevious @Donovangreen23 @LaydenRoque @TThomas06x @DickinsonISD pic.twitter.com/2eWEI52H5x
— VYPE Houston (@vypehouston) September 3, 2022
Defensively, the Gators were forcing turnovers and causing havoc in the backfield led by Layden Roque, Kaleb Walker and Diego Sanchez. Evan Wiltz and La'Ron Nelson also came up with some big sacks in the win as well.
“They kept us in that football game and will continue to throughout the course of the season,” Snelson said about the defense.
As the Gators turn their attention to Dobie next week, Snelson wants to see the offense take the next step as they did much better at "everybody locking in and doing their own job" this week.
And, of course, they'll watch some film.
“Whenever you win and you go back and watch film, it’s never as good as you think it is,” Snelson said with a smile. “Whenever you lose and go back and watch film, it’s never quite as bad as it feels.
