CRESTVIEW — In a perfect world Crestview High School’s flag football team would have a roster full of juniors and seniors.
If the Bulldogs were a veteran team first-year Coach Matt Sanders would probably sleep easier at night. But the fact is he Sanders inherited a roster that is comprised mainly of freshmen and sophomores.
Crestview has one senior on the team, Jessie Hinton, who played last year. It would be enough to test even the most veteran of coaches much less one that is only three years removed from college.
Crestview-Niceville flag football photos>>>
Sanders, a former offensive lineman at Clemson University and the offensive line coach for the boys football team, also knows a little something about coaching girls as he’s the junior varsity girls basketball coach and assists Kathy Combest with the varsity basketball team.
Sanders draws from his wealth of experience while coaching the Crestview flag football team.
The Bulldogs were 0-3 after Tuesday’s 29-20 loss to Niceville. Sanders isn’t discouraged as he sees improvement in every game.
“I thought we played hard,” Sanders said after the loss to the Eagles. “Last week I was a little concerned because and the end I thought we kind of let up against Fort Walton and got deflated at the end of the game. I didn’t see that this game.
“I thought we played hard all the way through. That’s what I look for in these young girls. ‘Can you finish?’”
Sanders said he saw that effort to finish strong against Niceville.
“Even though it was a loss, you can always take good things from a loss,” he said. “I don’t like to like to lose, but you have to put things in perspective.”
Kashira Casey scored a touchdown on a long punt return. Quarterback Aliyiah Brown scored a touchdown on a short run, threw a touchdown pass to Malaysia Moore and scored a 2-point conversion.
Sanders singled out Casey and Moore for their big games.
“Kashira Casey had a punt return for a touchdown and a couple of big runs,” Sanders said. “I thought she had a fantastic game.
“Malaysia Moore, she caught three or four passes that just kind of opened it up for us there in the second half. She really played a great game.”
Sanders said there are seven members of the team that also play basketball. He believes that it helps them knowing his personality.
“They are really used to me and that helps,” he said. “They know when I’m trying to encourage them rather than chew them out. They’ve seen me blow my stack a couple of times.”
Sanders praised his players for their attitudes and willingness to work.
“I have the greatest group of girls in the world,” he said. We are young, but we are coming. We are going to get there.
“At first I was kind of having to make sure they were lined in the right spot, but now they are doing that themselves. That’s the next step is correcting themselves. Once they start correcting themselves we can move from algebra to calculus.”
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Sanders pleased with progress of Bulldogs (PHOTOS, VIDEO)