CRESTVIEW — Tim Hatten isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. Hatten, who is now in his third year as Crestview High School’s head football coach knows building a winning team can be a slow process that takes time.
The Bulldogs haven’t been to the playoffs or had a winning season since 2010. Crestview was 5-5 with a win over Niceville in 2013, Hatten’s first season. Last year Crestview slipped to 3-7.
The Bulldogs open the season Friday night when they host an always talented Northview team.
Crestview’s Kickoff Classic with Vernon was cancelled with the Yellow Jackets were hit hard by injuries. Hatten and the Bulldogs will play to win, but he’ll also treat the non district game with the Chiefs the way he might a preason contest.
“You have to treat it as you would a controlled scrimmage,” he said. “You have to got to make sure you can get your special teams on and off the field. That’s what we will concentrate on all week.
“We will make sure we can get our substitutions in (the game), get our block (for field goals and extra points) teams in, our return teams in, get all the phases honed up so you can get them on and off the field as quick as possible.”
Hatten will try to get the Bulldog offense working as quickly as efficiently as possible.
“We will run ourselves to the line of scrimmage and be able to check into (a play) whatever (defense) they show us,” Hatten said. “That’s the beauty of doing what we do. If we see something, we can adjust at the line of scrimmage.
“That’s what we’ve worked on for three years and wev’e gotten so much better at it in third year.”
Hatten said he feels good about where the team is right now and he hopes the Bulldogs will be able outscheme Northview. .
“Whatever they do we will try to work against some of their strengths and some of their weaknesses,” Hatten said. “We’ve got a plan for most anything we can see.
WHAT: High school football, Northview at Crestview
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Jack Foster Stadium, Crestview High School
UPCOMING
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Bulldogs look to open season with win