By ELLIOT AVE-LALLEMANT

Fall break may have been restful for some, but it was anything but for our fighting Buccaneers. Our football team played two games at home, with tragic losses in both games, with a 0-28 loss to Cornell College and a 10-24 loss to Lawrence University. 

On Saturday, October 12th, the Bucs found themselves with a lack of a home field advantage, and in all honesty, it was a very unfortunate scheduling conflict. The Buc’s defense had a great first quarter and got three sacks, but ultimately let a touchdown slip through in the last minutes of the second quarter. In the third quarter, the defense showed out and got an interception in the end zone. The offense struggled throughout the game, but failed to put points on the board. 

The next week, on October 19th, the Bucs played Lawrence, in which I predicted a Beloit win. The defense played their best game of the season, getting countless turnovers and interceptions. Unfortunately, Beloit’s offense threw three interceptions, including a pick-six, which sealed the Lawrence win. 

Both games seemed to have the same problem that has been plaguing the Bucs all season, which is the offense failing to convert. The defense and special teams are strong, but it means nothing when the offense can’t put points on the board. 

In favor of a more balanced view, I interviewed two players on the football team, and I asked them what they thought the football team’s biggest issues were. One of them simply told me that the biggest issue was that we were overthinking and not executing. “I’ve seen how we practice, we do our jobs well, and we run the plays just fine. But when we’re in game situations, we overthink things and it sucks because we know we’ve done [the plays] before.” When asked about the next steps for improvement, he told me that the team needs to be more confident. “We’ve just got to remember that we got it and that we know how to make these plays.” 

The other player’s response was similar to the first, saying that the biggest problem with the offense comes down to making the plays. “Our offense is very stagnant right now. We have one good play and then we mess up the next one, and we lose yards. I can’t really do anything other than my job, and I think that everyone is getting in a slump because everyone’s worried about everyone else. It happens to the best of us, it’s human nature, feeling sorry for each other.” When asked about next steps, he said it mainly comes to everybody playing their part and working as hard as they can. “To be honest, I don’t think there is anything really. It comes down to what a team can do, or what a group can do. It comes down to, how hard do you work in practice? “At the end of the day, coach doesn’t need to tell us if we had a good day or a bad day. It’s just like, guys, did you work as hard as you possibly could?”

With the end of the season coming up, it’s clear that the football team needs to make a change, and with one home game left, the Bucs will need to fight even harder to secure their victories. The next and last home game is November 2nd, where the Bucs will take on Lake Forest College.

Featured Image: Beloit College