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Sports

Q&A With The Coach

Head GCHS Football Coach Nick Goshe previews this week's game against Crystal Lake Central and breaks down last week's win over Johnsburg.

PREVIEW

Patch.com:

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Is the game this week the one that decides who will win the Fox Division conference championship?

Coach Goshe:

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I don’t think so. We both still have to play Grayslake North who is undefeated in conference and having a really good season. Conference games are always important. You have to win them if you want to be the champs. If you lose games in conference then you are going to be depending on other people to win it for you.

Crystal Lake Central has some tough kids everywhere. You can tell it’s a wrestling school. People forget that their freshman and sophomore squads have been undefeated for the last 3-4 years. There is just talent oozing out of that school and they are well coached. They are not going to make mistakes.

They are definitely going to be the best team we will have faced this year. Their attitude, effort and toughness are solid like ours. We have a different skill set than they do. They are more brute strength whereas we have a little bit more skill and finesse.

Patch.com:

 

Defensively, what does the team have to do to slow down running back Gage Harrah?

Coach Goshe:

You’re right about slowing him down because no one stops him. We need to tackle him with a group of kids; you can’t tackle him by yourself. You have to have guys move to the ball. You have to wrap him up, hold on and know that help is coming. They are big on both sides of the line.

Patch.com:

 

Will they pass the ball much?

Coach Goshe:

They will show 4-wideout sets and their quarterback can throw the ball. But that’s not what they want to do. They want to run behind that big line and ram the ball down your throat. They want to bludgeon you and say we’re more physical than you are and we’re tougher than you are.

Patch.com:

 

Will it be important to put a big rush on the quarterback?

Coach Goshe:

Not really. We play team defense and everyone has a role. Our guys need to stay within their roles and the model we have established. When someone goes after the quarterback, that’s when we tend to get hurt. For us it’s more about staying within the team concept and understanding what the offense is trying to do to us. They are going to run straight at us. We need to stay within what we do, keep things in front of us, rally to the ball and force them to drive 80 yards for a score.

Patch.com:

 

So you will be making lots of adjustments during the game?

Coach Goshe:

Yes. This will be big-time chess match. It was last year. All of us coaches are going to have a good game.

Patch.com:

 

Do you think special teams will play a big role in this game?

Coach Goshe:

They always do. In a big game like this, your offenses and defenses tend to cancel each other out. So your turnovers, your special teams and penalties become the deciding factors in the game.

 

RECAP

 

Patch.com:

Did the team perform as well as you expected them to do against Johnsburg?

Coach Goshe:

Yes. We wanted to come out and take care of business. We preach that a lot – respect your opponent and take care of business. We felt like the kids did that. They executed right from the onset. We did struggle a little bit defensively. We weren’t totally ready at first and Coach Cat was not pleased with that. Then again we have to give credit to Johnsburg because they have some really big guys on the line and they do have some playmakers.

Patch.com:

Are you surprised at how well your defense is doing so far this season as far as keeping teams out of the end zone?

Coach Goshe:

No. It’s part of the growing expectations for our guys. Coach Cat is a really, really good defensive coordinator. He values everyone around him and his assistants are all on the same page as him. There’s no "me" mentality with the defense. Coach Cat brings an "us" mentality to the table. The big family style atmosphere and what’s best for the team. That’s one of those things that makes a good defense great. We are really coming together nicely. Coach Cat gets a lot of credit for that because he’s one of those family-oriented Italians and the kids feed off of that.

 

Patch.com:

Your defense is among the top three in Lake County in fewest points allowed.

Coach Goshe:

Yes, but remember our defensive starters have only given up 21 points in the first four games and the other 12 points were when we gave playing time to the JV and sophomores on the team. You could argue that our defensive starters have yet to give up an important point.

Patch.com:

How do you think your offensive line is doing?

Coach Goshe:

We’re pretty balanced up front and they play as a unit. We don’t have a dominant offensive lineman to run behind so we have to be able to run balanced on both sides. We look at what the defense gives us. We are discovering the strengths of our guys. We know that Cameron Hosimer is a better drive blocker and Steven Moioffer is a better pull blocker. If the line is doing their job you shouldn’t even notice them.

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