In Their Own Words - Voices of the PAC-6 - Riverside vs. Southern Durham (10/17/2010)

Going into Friday's game between the Pirates and Spartans a number of similarities existed on the surface between two teams that had mustered just three wins on the season against 12 losses.  But in our analysis of the game [PAC-6 Breakdown (Week 4) - Pirates visit Spartans - Let Down or Confidence] it was clear that there were just as many areas where the two teams diverged and that divergence was a clear positive for the Spartans.    Defensively, the Spartans were ranked near the top of the conference and showed why with another impressive performance as the Pirates were only able to put seven on the board.  The Spartans had shown glimpses of potential in special teams, especially in the return game, returning a kick-off against Jordan a week earlier and putting together a number of impressive returns against the Hornets weeks earlier.  The Pirates were last in the conference in special team scores allowed going into the game with Southern.  So in many ways, it was no surprise that the Spartans took a kick-off back to the house.  Southern has been putting things together on the offensive side of the ball of late, especially in their run game and that continued on Friday night with over 200 yards rushing.  For Riverside, they continued to struggle in the first half, as Coach Spell had spoke about earlier [In Their Own Words - Voices of the PAC-6 - Northern Durham vs. Riverside (10/13/2010)].  Letdown or Confidence was how I described this game - primarily directed at Southern, and it's clear that a letdown was not on the list for Friday's game - and Confidence was for the Spartans.  Southern put up 20 more points than I predicted and Riverside was only able to must seven, 10 less than I had posted [DFBFan's Pick - Southern 27 Riverside - 17; Actual - Southern 47  Riverside 7].  It reiterates the fact that Southern has learned from that tough opening stretch and Riverside still has a lot of work ahead to compete at a top level in this conference.  The following quotes are from the voices of the PAC-6 and were included in an article from the News and Observer.  For more information on the game, follow the link provided at the end of the post.

Playing tougher than average competition for a young team can have multiple affects on how the team grows and plays down the road; how the staff and system support and nurture that growth are just as important to the process as the actual experience that is created through the events.  For Southern, falling short so-many times to begin the season could have been a detriment for most young teams, but at this point it's clear that an infrastructure existed to support critical growth through adversity.  Head Coach Adrian Jones spoke about how they've approached the entire season and both the highs and lows that have been associated with such a grueling non-conference schedule.

"I told our guys they wouldn't be disappointed if they kept working hard and stick to the game plan,"  Jones said. "We've stuck together as a family, and it's paying off."

Even with six losses to start the season, conference wins can reign supreme in so many ways for a team that has taken the road of challenging themselves in the non-conference slate.  For the Spartans, after being battle tested earlier, they've put together three straight conference wins to keep pace with conference leaders Northern Durham and Hillside.  Although the Spartans fell to Hillside by a point to begin conference play, they know that two important facts still remain in their quest for conference supremacy; first, that they still have Northern on the slate to conclude the season and second that Hillside and Northern still have their own date ahead.  Coach Jones commented on what remains for his Spartans and how they should approach their next steps.

"I was just telling the guys that we still have a chance at winning the division," Jones said. "We just have to take it one game at a time."

News & Observer (article by Bonitta Best)