St. Frances Academy Takes Its Lumps On The Gridiron

Milton Kent

WASHINGTON, DC 2008-09-26

The bus ride from St. Frances' East Baltimore campus to the Ballou High Stadium in Southeast Washington last Friday took about 90 minutes, long enough, in theory, for the players to study the playbook and get locked in on the game plan for that night.

Instead, the players frittered away that hour and a half, apparently doing anything but properly preparing for the game. When they arrived at the stadium, some of the Panthers spent as much time making contact with friends and family in the stands and swaying to music as they did concentrating.

By halftime, St. Frances was on the verge of being out of the game, and head coach Mike Clay vented his frustrations over the team's lack of mental preparation.

You talk. Everybody wants to talk. We all want to talk about how great we are and what we can do. It doesn't mean (expletive deleted) here, gentlemen. When you're over here, it means nothing. When you're on the bus and listening to gangsta rap and singing, it doesn't mean nothing. Why do you think I ask you to just focus?

For fans and parents, halftime of a high school football game can be a time for to grab a snack, or to catch up on old acquaintances.

For the coaching staff, however, those 15 minutes can be the difference between a pleasant night's sleep and agony until the next game.

Clay has given more than a few halftime talks during his seven years as a head coach, and in this one, he tried to get his players, many of whom are playing organized football for the first time, to grasp the urgency of the moment.

It didn't take long for the players' lack of focus to show up on the field. The Blue Knights marched down field on the opening drive and scored.

By halftime, the Panthers trailed 14-0, and, by the time the team reached that nook of the stadium, Clay had reached a boiling point, no doubt the same one that most high school coaches reach at some juncture of their season.

I don't care one play I call here. It doesn't matter. The play doesn't matter. All you do is have to execute. Execute the (expletive deleted) play and we'll win the (expletive deleted) game. I promise.

From there, Clay walked away, and let assistant head coach Tom Kraning take over. Kraning, who like Clay and the rest of coaches is volunteering their time this year, sternly challenged the players.

Kraning, who lit into the team at halftime the week before, drew the analogy for the players that their pre-game conduct and their first half play was like the behavior of live crabs in a basket, who tend to pull potential escapees back in.

That's what's wrong with listening to music on the bus and not studying your plays. That's what's wrong with not focusing on how you can get on the field and make things better. That's what's wrong, gentlemen. That's the picture behind the whole thing. We have the crabs pulling us back in.


The talk didn't quite have the desired effect, as St. Frances was shut out 26-0 to fall to 1-2. Afterwards, quarterback Bernie Vaughn reflected on how the Panthers could reverse their fortunes.

Guys just got to stay focused. Soon as school over, you got to get in the locker room, get together, look over playbooks. Guys just have to get it together, work hard. You see it shows on the field. What happens in practice shows on the field during the week.

The Panthers will have an off week to sharpen their focus before heading to Pennsylvania for their next game.

I'm Milton Kent, reporting from Southeast Washington, for 88.1, WYPR.