Burnet football uses bye week to work on technique, basics

CAPTION: The trenches are all about technique and the Burnet Bulldogs used their bye week to get better at the technique of blocking. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

Though District 13-4A Division I is on a bye this week, the Burnet High School football team continued to practice each day in preparation for the final five weeks of the regular season and the most important part of its schedule.

That begins with the district opener against Lampasas at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, at Bulldog Field, 1400 Bulldog Stadium Drive.

While the Bulldogs (3-2 overall) did practice, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Tyler McIntosh noted that instead of spending two hours practicing each day, they were cut to about an hour.

“We were getting back to the basics of football and retouching stuff,” he said. “You learn that as the hustle and bustle of the season goes, you may forget. It’s a good week to work on them. There was a lot of individual work with the coaches and the position groups.”

He noted that his time with his players was especially productive when it came to correcting and fine-tuning technique. McIntosh, who is in his fourth season in Kelly green, said the seniors led and communicated with their teammates very well to ensure every minute was productive.

“I got to be with my guys in our zone of the stadium and work with them on stuff,” he said. “It’s been awesome. I’ve gotten to be the only offensive line coach for those seniors. They’ve been good at helping our younger players. I continue to emphasize the technical stuff. You have to have some technique in the trenches.”

He added coaches have met to discuss and share information throughout the week, adding it’s all been positive data. Coaches have shared their points of view and have enjoyed the refreshers, he said.

The other important element of the week is that players have been able to let their bodies heal, McIntosh said.

“We’re getting to take full advantage of the open week in getting healthy,” he said. “We came out of it as healthy as you can. Our kids did a good job of taking care of the bumps and bruises. Our training staff did some great stuff working on our kids and kept the doors open. It was a good week.”

The coordinator noted one big positive about the 2022 Bulldogs is the players never believe they’re out of a game, no matter the score. That was apparent in how they beat Early 49-48 and how they defeated Giddings 28-7 to win the last two contests.

“There’s a lot of fight and no give-up out of them,” he said. “We’re giving everybody our best. Brownwood and Llano (the two losses) — those teams are really good battle-tested programs. Our kids have come a long way. It’s been awesome. (Head coach Bryan) Wood has brought a new mentality, and our kids have jumped in with it. Our kids are jumping right in. Everybody has been good. The kids have worked hard, our staff has a great group of guys working hard with each other.”

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