Tipton adjusts schedule, set to host Helias JV team

Helias players react after a snap during a scrimmage last month at Ray Hentges Stadium.
Helias players react after a snap during a scrimmage last month at Ray Hentges Stadium.

TIPTON - After starting the season with a 34-14 win last Friday against the University Academy Charter Gryphons, the Tipton Cardinals aim to make it two wins in a row as they get ready for their home game Saturday against Helias' JV team.

Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

Tipton (1-0) was scheduled to play the Russellville Indians tonight, but Cardinals coach Tony Braby said Russellville had to cancel.

"(Russellville) canceled because they had a few players get hurt and so they have low numbers," Braby said. "So instead of playing us, they just canceled and we were able to pick up Helias JV team."

Braby said to build off the success from last game, his team has to learn from the mistakes they made last week.

"It was basically just first game jitters and first game mistakes," he said. "We need to get a little bit more in tune with our offensive plays as far as knowing our assignments. We've got a lot of first year players on the varsity team playing offensive line this year. So we are trying to keep things really simple and we are still making mistakes, but those will be cleared up the more games we play."

When it comes to their new opponent, Braby said it could affect the way the Cardinals prepare.

"What hurts us is that we do not have any film of them, this will be (Helias JV's) first game of the season, so we won't be prepared that way," he said. "We are trying to exchange some film from our last game with their varsity game and hopefully that their JV tries to simulate what their varsity does. If that is the case, then maybe we can get some idea of what their JV does by watching their varsity on film."

If they are unable to get any film, Braby said Tipton will have to go in blind, but he said on offense the Cardinals should be OK.

"It would be nice to know what defense they are going to run but this might be about the third time we have played them in this type of scenario and they are always a tough opponent," he said. "I think they are Class 4, so playing their JV team is still a good challenge for us as a Class 1 school.

"We like it better than not having a game because it keeps us preparing during the week. We never know if the season is going to be cut short because of the virus or not, so we are going to take anything we can get and really appreciate that Helias is allowing us to play the JV team."

Braby said Tipton is prepared to play against different types of defenses.

"We have been practicing going against different defensive fronts," he said. "Probably the main defense you will see most of the time is some kind of four man defensive line front. Tradition says they will be in like a 4-3 or a 4-4 defense, so we are used to that. We are prepared to play against a odd defense as well, so we will just make adjustments during the game or at the beginning of the game when we see what defense they are in and some of our plays work well against any kind of defense you put out."

When it comes to defense, Braby said the Cardinals saw a lot of different types of offenses.

"There is not much we haven't seen," Braby said. "They might catch us off-guard for a few plays early, but it won't take long to see what we have to do. We might have to use our imagination a little bit during practice and throw a lot of different offensive formations against our defense just to be prepared in case they want to run or if they want to throw the ball."