Coach's Corner with head coach Edwin Garcia: Del Rio edition

Alexander head football coach Edwin Garcia talks about last week's game against United South and previous the team's upcoming game against Del Rio

By Garrett Kroeger

Welcome to this week’s Coach’s Corner with Alexander head football coach Edwin Garcia.

This will be a weekly series as Garcia will provide valuable insight on last week’s result and this week’s upcoming matchup.

Here’s the latest edition of Coach’s Corner with head coach Edwin Garcia.

You opened district competition with a loss to United South. What did you see on film from that game and what do you think held you guys back?

I’m proud of the way our kids fought, we knew coming into the game that we had to come out strong and score points. Unfortunately, we couldn’t put them away early enough and let them stay in the game. United South is a great program, all credit to them sticking with it until they got going. A broken tackle and a long drive ultimately cost us this game. Other than that, our defense did a tremendous job. We have to keep working hard to be more consistent. We have a great team and need to work on continuing to improve our execution.

I know you’ve mentioned hoping to play a complete four quarters. What is it going to take for you guys to achieve that this week?

We have to win every day this week, and be consistent all week. We have to do the simple things better, pay attention to details that will become big outcomes when it matters the most. It will ultimately help us be great and also create better habits that will become part of who we are. We have to B.I.T.E. back and show who we are.

What have you seen on film from Del Rio?

Del Rio is on Year 2 of a head coaching change. They are better at what they do than last year. As always is the case with Del Rio, they have great athletes on both sides of the ball. They are similar in offense as a couple teams we have faced this year. We are hoping our defense continues to play at an elite level, and our offense is able to put points on the board. If we are able to get points on the board early, Del Rio will be forced to do something they are not comfortable with, which is passing. They are a very run heavy team, with only a few passing attempts per game.

How important is it to avoid being 0-2 in district play?

District 30-6A has many battles to be fought this year. I feel that it will be a hard fought race all the way through the last week of district in Week 11. This game is obviously big for us, and we need this one to help us get some confidence back after a tough loss last week. We need to focus on the Alexander Bulldogs and what we can control.

What are the keys to victory this week?

We need to focus on our team and brothers on the field next to us. We have to maintain our composure and commitment to our team and community. We have to fight for all that we believe in and push through adversity. This game is more about us believing in ourselves and the program, than who we are playing. We can beat anyone that steps on the field if we just do our job, and continue to fight for 3600 E. Del Mar and have fun. We need to play loose and just execute. We play better and faster when we are having fun. Winning will take care of itself.