I talked to coach Ryan Cornelsen about tonight’s game with Nixa earlier this week on the REPMO Sports Show. Here’s the transcript of that conversation.
David Brazeal: “The Tigers host Nixa. Nixa undefeated, you’ve got one loss and we’ve talked kind of leading up to this game and even before we started here. You look at them and they’re just big, especially up front. And we’ll start with the offensive line.”
Ryan Cornelsen: “That is a big group. Yeah, they’re as big as I’ve seen, I think, as a coach, as far as just across the board. Not only that, this year they’re extremely talented at multiple receivers and running backs. They’ll play two or three running backs that can all go and then they got some receivers that are extremely fast. And you know, kind of different than last year where they their stars and those guys were kind of their key guys. Now, they’ve got a lot, just a lot more depth and a lot more guys that make plays on a regular basis. So, not only are they big, they’re extremely talented. Defensively, they’re big as well. I mean their linebackers are big. They come down in physical when their D line’s big. So there’s no doubt the size factor is an issue that we got to figure out how to utilize our quickness and our grit, I guess you would say, to not let their size affect us as much as it probably should.”
David Brazeal: “You talked after the Joplin game that you weren’t injured but banged up from playing so hard for the entire game and that sometimes happens. And I would expect, is that kind of what you expect needs to happen if you’re going to have a chance on Friday?”
Ryan Cornelsen: “Yeah, we’ve still got some guys that, we’re icing and we’re doing everything we can. It’s important to our kids, so if there’s any chance of them playing, they’re going to play. And not just this game, but any game. It’s high school football, you only get so many of them. And so that’s one thing that’s tough about this league, you play physical games each week and guys are sore and banged up. And you know, and so they just learn to play through those things. And so I’m proud of our kids for that, the fact that we, unless it’s something a trainer or doctor tells us we can’t, they play through it. And they find ways to deal with it. So, you know, that’s a great thing for a team. They feed off each other with that mentality of just being tough and playing hard.”
David Brazeal: “As you look at their offense, what do you need to be able to do to offset that size? And I know you deal with being oversized every week, somewhat, maybe a little more this week. But what’s a key for you defensively?”
Ryan Cornelsen: “Yeah, just utilizing what we are to take away some of that size or try to get there before they know we’re coming or to move guys around. We can’t just sit in a base defense and expect that their big guys aren’t gonna wear us down or swallow us up some. So, we’ll be moving up front, doing some different things, which is nothing different. They’ve seen it on film, we do it every week. I joked with our coaches that yesterday on defense, we had one of our D linemen out due to an injury or rehabbing an injury and we had one guy over 200 pounds on our defensive side. And then they assured me that Evan’s over 200, so we had two. So I was wrong, it was two, not one. But I wouldn’t trade them for the world, man. Those guys are, we’re undersized but I don’t know that that matters. They play extremely hard, they make plays. And so I think it’s something they again, they build some pride around, the fact that we don’t think we have to be huge to go beat people and win games. So, we just have to play with heart and play with a lot of intensity, and those guys do that each and every week.”
David Brazeal: “Offensively, same question. What’s a key for you, maybe different this week or a little different this week than most weeks?”
Ryan Cornelsen: “Yeah, I think anytime you’re playing a team as good as Nixa, the margin of error is really small. It shrinks drastically. So where you could get away with some mistakes in other games will cost you. And I think Webb was a perfect example of that. It was obviously a lot of mistakes, but the fact when you’re playing good teams, your margin of error is small. And I think that’s really the only difference. The same thing that won the six games is gonna, you’re doing the same things. You’re trying to stay balanced, whatever they’re giving you, you take. Just the margin of error shrinks. So, our kids understand that. We talk about that, not just this week but every week. And they understand that we’ve got to go out and execute at a high level to be in a game of this magnitude.”
David Brazeal: “How’s practice been this week? And are the kids having fun with this, this big of a game coming up?”
Ryan Cornelsen: “I think so. I think it’s, I’m proud of our program. I think we’re in a good place with our freshmen and JV have only lost one game between the two of them, and our varsity’s only lost one at this point. And then to put yourself in a position to play a game of this magnitude, in a game that’s got some hype around it and expecting a big crowd and all those things. You could play for a lot of schools in the state and around the country that you never get that feeling, you’re never around that. So I’m excited for our kids that they’ve worked hard enough, our program has developed far enough along that we’re getting to play in some of those games now instead of just hearing about them. So, that’s exciting for not just this year’s team but moving forward, the future. That we can be in big games and create big environments. And that’s what you’re trying to do when you build a program, is to be in those games then belong there and go and play. So I’m proud of what they’ve done and what they’ve built these last three years and excited for the opportunity to go play a really good game.”
David Brazeal: “Alright, it’s going to be fun. Good luck on Friday.”
Ryan Cornelsen: “Appreciate it.”