ROME, Ga. – Coming off of a tough week one loss to East Tennessee State, Shorter football coach Zach Morrison has Galatians 6:9 written at the top of the board in his office, which reads, "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."  Following the loss, Shorter's football team showed no signs of giving up, but yet signs of reaping their crop.  Late in the game, the Hawks placed together several defensive stops and then strung together a scoring drive on their last possession to end the game on a high note.
Coach Morrison sat down with us to give some thoughts on the game and some of the top performances throughout the game and the week at practice.  "That was a tough and physical opponent and we were able to pull some successful drives offensively, big stops defensively, and special teams were solid for most of the game," Morrison said.  "We're going to work on fixing some of those mistakes and continue to get these guys ready for West Florida at home this weekend."
"We totaled 161 yards of offense on a tough defense, which is not ideal, but it is growth from last season to this season," said Morrison.  "We are proud of a lot of guys on the team and the communication they displayed on the field. The receiving core of Wilbert Boyd, Andrew Warren, Christian Da-Silva, and Elijah Gilbert played a critical role in our success of moving the ball down the field and extending drives. Aeneas Dennis played tough when he got in. I believe he may have missed a read or two, but he gives us a different dynamic. There are a lot of positives to pull from the game, but we still need to execute better."
On the flip side, Morrison noted how tough and successful East Tennessee State's offense was – as they returned several starters from last year's conference championship team and the team that made a trip to the FCS Playoffs. "We played an extremely physical offense. Their running backs are really good and played extremely tough.  That was one of the largest and most physical offensive lines that we will see as well," Morrison stated. "We played well towards Coach Creamer's rule of 'Get The Ball.' We must get the ball however we can – rip it out, force a fumble, or pick it off. Terrance Snelling played extremely fast and physical – almost with a completely different speed than anything we have seen from him before.  I am excited to see how the rest of this season progresses for him and the success he is bound to have. We played with so much energy and enthusiasm throughout the game. I'm proud of how we were able to get off the field during the third and fourth quarters. We got a couple huge stops in the second half and Jeffery Brewer with his first interception.  The guys are playing hard and making strides as we progress towards the rest of the season."
  Offense: Caleb Winton (Junior, Brewton, AL) – Throughout the week at practice, Winton emulated East Tennessee State's quarterback at a high level.  Winton performed extremely consistently and was critical in helping Shorter's secondary prepare for the ETSU game.
Defense: Bryan Bordeaux (Freshman, Newman, GA) – During the week, Bordeaux was consistently bringing the pressure and creating havoc in the trenches.  One of the focuses of the team this season is to get 1% better every day and Bordeaux's performance against the offensive line helped them do just that.
Special Teams: Jordan Hughley (Freshman, Chattanooga, TN) – Quite possibly the most underlooked area for a football team is the special teams scout team.  Hughley received some of the highest praise from Coach Morrison following his performance in practice.  Constantly flying down the field and putting pressure on the blockers during special teams practice, Hughley caught the coaching staff's attention with his ability to make plays.
  Offense: John Dietl III (Freshman, Tampa, FL) – As a true freshman playing in his first collegiate game, Dietl made an impact on the Shorter offense.  Dietl's first career catch as a Shorter Hawk came as a touchdown from Dennis in the fourth quarter.  In addition to the 8-yard touchdown reception, Dietl had a superb game through both his run blocking and pass blocking.
Defense: Xavier Robinson (Freshman, Atlanta, GA) – Robinson played as well as any freshman in the country on the defensive side of the ball this week.  Against East Tennessee State, Robinson tallied 11 tackles, which is tied for the most by any Shorter player in a game last season (Nehemiah Reddish, twice).  The freshman linebacker was flying around the field and forcing issues in both the run and pass game.
Special Teams: Brett Bardenwerper (Sophomore, Helen, GA) – Against East Tennessee State, Bardenwerper averaged 40.0 yards per punt.  To go along with impressive average, Bardenwerper tallied a booming 51 yard punt.  Coach Morrison also noted that Bardenwerper did a phenomenal job with handling the kickoff duties for the Hawks, placing balls well and allowing the special teams opportunities to make big plays.
 
This Weekend: Shorter will return to Rome this weekend to take on the University of West Florida (0-1, 0-0 Gulf South) at Barron Stadium at 1:00 PM on Saturday.