For Hart High football, the physical talent is there. It’s the mental game that the Indians are hoping to improve on this week against Arcadia.
“It was the first game of the year,” coach Mike Herrington said of last week’s loss to Downey High. “We played a very good team and you can’t make mental mistakes and survive. Hopefully we can correct those things and move on and do some good things in the near future.”
JT Shrout will be making his second varsity start of the season this Friday after completing 25-of-40 passes for 346 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions last week.
“Hopefully we can settle him down and just let him manage the game a little bit better,” said Herrington. “Physically gifted, it’s just he needs to know how to manage the game a little better and that comes with experience.”
Herrington expects slot receiver DJ Palmer to be a contributor against Arcadia and Ben Rosen is expected to have another solid game after an exciting debut last week.
“Our running backs have to be able to (catch the ball and run the ball) and block. He did a good job that night,” the coach said.
The Apaches are coming off a 49-0 loss to Cathedral High of Los Angeles, but held La Salle to 99 yards in their season-opener in addition to recording four sacks.
The Indians are aware of the defensive threats Arcadia brings, but the focus isn’t 100 percent on the opponent.
“We need to worry about ourselves and not too much about Arcadia,” said Herrington.
