By: David Wells
If there’s one sound bite that will define Spring Hill’s 2013 season, it’s this: you can’t turn a program around overnight.
Those were the words on Spring Hill head coach Tom Turchetta’s mind heading into the Raiders’ Week 1 game against Mt. Pleasant High School this Thursday night.
The matchup will pit Turchetta against a coaching staff that comprises many of his former colleagues at Columbia Central, and if there’s one thing that experience has taught him, it’s that playing against them will be a four-quarter battle.
“There’s no margin for error,” he said.
Turchetta said that his first Spring Hill squad showed plenty of errors in its 28-6 season opening loss to Summit Friday night; however, he praised his team’s conditioning and its effort.
“You saw no one go off the field because of cramping,” he said. “In the past, that would never have happened because they would have rolled over, and it would have been a blowout.”
Spring Hill was on the verge of a shutout when the Raiders drove down the field and quarterback Tylin Oden score a 1-yard touchdown with a one second left in regulation.
Oden was one of two quarterbacks who played against Summit, the other being starter Drew Gorman. Turchetta said that playing two quarterbacks is by design, though he does not intend to rotate them.
One key area where Spring Hill will need to improve is on rushing defense. The visiting Spartans rushed 40 times for 258 yards, and average of 26.27 yards per carry.
The Raiders rushed 29 times for 111 yards.
Mt. Pleasant also enters the game with a 0-1 record after losing to Eagleville High School 17-8 in its season opener. The Tigers managed 129 yards of total offense last week.
Spring Hill kicks off at home against Mt. Pleasant on Thursday, Aug. 29th at 7 p.m.
