ROME. Ga. – Coming off of a tough loss to North Greenville, Coach Morrison sat down with his staff on Sunday and laid some of his thoughts out on the table. One of the verses that was brought up in the staff meeting was James 1:12, which reads, "Blessed is the one who perserveres under trail because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."
 
On a similar thought, Coach Morrison spoke on Jim Valvano's speech from the 1993 ESPY's. Valvano was a National Championship winning basketball coach at North Carolina State and had been diagnosed with diagnosed with cancer and was nearing his passing. "Time is very precious to me. I don't know how much I have left, and I have some things that I would like to say," Valvano said. "To me, there are three things we should all do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. No. 1 is laugh. You should laugh every day. No. 2 is think. You should spend some time in thought. No. 3 is you should have your emotions moved to tears – could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heckuva day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."
 
Shorter's coaching staff is always looking to build people up, each and every day. Life is short and the coaching staff looks to lead by example on how to lead and create an impact in the lives of others. Every single day matters and each and every one of our lives. How you manage to make an impact on those around you marks the legacy that you leave.
 
Coach Morrison's philosophy for the football is program is as follows: "It is our desire to help each individual develop to their full potential; as football players, as citizens of their community and as Christians growing daily in their walk with Jesus Christ.  We feel that many lessons our student athletes learn on the field will carry on with them through their adult life."
 
Shorter's defense played an outstanding game for the full sixty minutes against North Greenville. With a pair of forced turnovers, the execution of the gameplan was phenomenal.  Caleb Mason picked off a pass and helped swing the momentum back in the Hawks favor. Terrance Snellings forced a fumble, which Bruce Guyton Jr. recovered and gave Shorter great field position to begin a drive. Xavier Robinson once again led the Hawks with eight tackles, two of which were tackles for a loss. Nehemiah Reddish also contributed six tackles and several great plays in pass coverage.
 
Offensively, the coaching staff liked what they saw out of freshman QB Aeneas Dennis in some limited action. "Aeneas did some great things in the ground and through the air," said Morrison. Dalton Hamm adjusted well throughout the week, moving from tackle to guard and providing great effort throughout.
 
The footwork from Caleb Thomas on the offensive line was impressive, but Nehemiah Bing continues to bring stability to the front. Kameron King led Shorter with five receptions for 50 yards against North Greenville.
 
On special teams, Cameron Shirley showed great awareness on the field to recover a muffed punt while flying down the field in pursuit.
 
In a team meeting on Monday evening, Coach Morrison spoke to his team and brought the words of President Theodore Roosevelt to the meeting. "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
 
While the lack of immediate success can grow in the minds of the team, there are several clear signs that this program is on the verge of success. Those who are fighting in the arena – the players, coaches, support staff, and everyone else involved with the program – are seeing the evidence first-hand. Everyone is going to continue blocking out the naysayers and critics whom look to belittle those putting in the work day in and day out.
 
Near the end of Coach Valvano's memorable ESPY's speech, he left the audience with these words: "Don't give up… Don't ever give up."
 
Players of the Week
Defense: Terrance Snellings – Snellings was once again one of the leaders of the defense with a six tackle effort on Saturday. Snellings also forced a fumble and brought down a Crusader in the backfield for a loss.
 
Defense: Bruce Guyton Jr. – Guyton Jr. picks up his first Player of the Week honor with an outstanding performance on Saturday. Falling on the fumble that Snellings forced, Guyotn Jr. helped Shorter get the ball back and provided a great opportunity to score.
 
Special Teams: Cameron Shirley – Shirley showed great awareness when scooping up a muffed punt against North Greenville. In addition to the recovery, Shirley provided great coverage on punts and kickoffs.
 
Scout Team Players of the Week
Defense: John Stoecker – The outside linebacker out of West Hall High School had an outstanding week on the gridiron. Stoecker did a great job of containing the run and filling the flats in pass coverage. This is the first Scout Team Player of the Week honor in the career of the freshman.
 
Special Teams: Tristan Carlton – Carlton picked up his third Scout Team Player of the Week honor after another outstanding week of practice. With a positive, uplifting attitude and max effort every day on the gridiron, Carlton has done an outstanding job of being a leader and creating a positive culture throughout the program this season.