Indians excited for season opener at Charleston

Staff photo by Dustin Sullivan
The Kennett Indians have been working hard on the practice field all preseason long, preparing for their 2010 season opener at Charleston on Friday, along with getting ready for the rest of the season

[Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The Kennett Indians are anxious to get on the field and starting playing games. They'll get their chance as they travel to Charleston to take on the Bluejays on Friday at 7 p.m.

Many people have been waiting for the season to kick off, including Kennett head coach Kenneth Reidinger and his team. "We've been ready to start hitting other teams for a long time," Reidinger said. "We know that, as a team, we're ready to get after it and start facing some game situations.

Reidinger feels like his team is ready for Friday's game and that they've been focusing on what they're going to have to do to leave Charleston with a victory. "We've had a lot of good practices leading up to this game and our guys have really been working hard in preparing to face Charleston.

When it comes to what he expects from Charleston team, Reidinger knows that they bring a lot to the table. "They're an athletic team, Reidinger said. "Their quarterback will be the best athlete on the field and we know that, to be successful, we'll have to stop their running game.

One thing that Reidinger looks to take advantage of is the fact that Charleston is a very young team and he feels like since they're in a rebuilding year, he hopes that his more experienced team will be able to use their game experience in beating Charleston.

Reidinger said that his offense will be successful in putting up points if the offensive line plays consistently. "Our offensive line will really have to step up and play well if we want to win," Reidinger said. "You haven't seen a strong, consistent offensive line at Kennett in a long time and we're wanting to change that. We're excited to see how those guys handle not just the first series, but how they play later in the ball game.

One thing that Reidinger will do is depend on veteran players like starting QB Adam Grantham, TE Andy Lack, RB Cameron Wallace and RB Emmett Dunn to come out against Charleston, be leaders on the field and have a good game from the offensive side of the ball.

"We've got a core group of guys on offense that we're been able to depend on in the past and we're looking for guys like Grantham, Wallace and Dunn to play well for us on Friday," said Reidinger about his confidence in his offense.

One important issue with the defensive is making sure that All-Region DL Travon Weeden is healthy and ready to play. "Travon was a difference make for us last season," Reidinger said about his All-Region defensive lineman. "We need to make sure that he's 100%, because he is a leader on the defense and we know that he will always make a play for us when he's on the field.

Some of the same guys on offense will also be playing key roles on defense for the Indians. Guys such as Dunn, Wallace, Lack and Logan Dollins will play both sides of the ball for Kennett, as they look not only to score points, but stop Charleston from keeping the game close.

One aspect of the game that Reidinger feels needs to be consistent throughout is their special teams unit.

Reidinger made is clear that he doesn't want to lose games because of mistakes on special teams. "We lost some games last year because of some bad mistakes on special team and we're going to do everything we can to avoid those mistakes again," Reidinger said about the importance he puts on his special teams unit.

"Throughout last season, we gave up to many big kick off and punts return plays that either had touchdowns scored against us, or put our defense is some tough situations throughout ball games. We have put so much emphasis in special teams, this year, that we run those drills at the beginning of every practice. We don't want to lose ball games because of special teams' mistakes."

Reidinger feels that since most of his starters have actual game experience that they won't have an issue of keeping their nerves in check. "We know that the first snap of the game will be critical because we want to start the game off right, but after that our guys are just going to play football and not worry about being nervous," Reidinger said about how he hopes his team will stay composed throughout Friday's game. "Our guys should worry about doing the things will tell them to and winning the ball game."

Despite the obvious answer of a win, Reidinger hopes that his team just goes out and plays well in the season opener. "At the end of the day, if our guys play well and play the game the right way, then win or lose we'll be satisfied. If we're going to get beat, I would rather us get beat physically, not mentally," said Reidinger. "We just want to go out and play with a high intensity level. We feel that if our guys just play their best, then we have a good chance to win the ball game."

Weather: Temperatures will be in the high 70s at kickoff and will be dropping into the mid-70s throughout the night. The is a 0% chance of rain and there will be clear skies throughout the ball game.