Indians begin season at New Madrid Jamboree

Staff photo by Dustin Sullivan
Kennett Indians' quarterback Adam Grantham (far left) scrambles away from two Dexter defensive linemen during the New Madrid Jamboree at New Madrid County Central High School on Friday night

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The Kennett Indians traveled to New Madrid on Friday and met up with the Eagles on their own campus, along with the Dexter Bearcats and East Prairie Eagles who also participated in this jamboree.

Throughout the night, Kennett head coach Kenneth Riedinger finally got the chance to see his team in action against other teams, something that he said was key to preparing his team for the start of the season.

"Anytime you go through a camp, as a team, you get tired of beating up on your teammates, so it's good that we got our guys to play in this jamboree and actually hit other teams," Riedinger said.

When it comes to his team's performance on Friday night, Riedinger said that he did see some positive things from his guys, but he also saw that there is still work to be done before their first game. "Our first team defense did really well tonight," Riedinger said. "From defensive point-of-view I thought we did well in stopping the run throughout the night. Offensively, we saw some fronts that we haven't worked on and didn't have a chance to game plan against, but tonight gave us the chance to see how our line will work in that type of situation.

When it comes to his backs and receivers, Riedinger commented that he saw some positives, but they also had some things to work on before the team's first game. "We were very pleased with how our backs played tonight and they created some good plays when the ball was in their hands," Riedinger said.

Having the opportunity to face teams that you'll see in the season is something that Riedinger liked when it came to participating in this jamboree. All three teams that Kennett faced on Friday are on the schedule with two of those teams being district opponents in Dexter and New Madrid.

"We just needed some competition and wanted the chance to hit some other teams," Riedinger said. "We've been in camp for weeks now and our guys were just getting tired of hitting each other. They are ready for this season to get under way and tonight proved that their excited for next Friday's opener at Charleston."

The one thing that Riedinger said that his team needs to improve on before next Friday night's opener is execution of their offensive and defensive schemes. "Tonight our guys learned that they have to execute and come out and be ready to play," Riedinger said. "Our defense is going to have to be ready to make tackles and not blow coverages of opposing receivers. The one thing that we need to work on, on the offensive side of the ball, is just execution of plays. It's really all about sticking to what we, as coaches, have taught them and making sure that they are going hard on every play."

"We're excited for the season to start and ready to go," Riedinger said about his team's anticipation for their first game. "Our guys are ready to play in games when it counts. We've been working hard all off-season and we hope that all our hard work pays off with wins throughout the season."

Kennett will open their 2010 season on the road at Charleston as they take on the Bluejays on August 27, with the game starting at 7 p.m.