Brent Davis Press Conference: "We've got to get off the bus ready to play."

SAN ANGELO, TX — The Central Bobcats get a chance to regroup and recover this week while everyone else in the district continue to battle.  Central’s bye comes very late in the season, but Brent Davis is relieved that it is finally here. 

During his press conference Monday, Davis reiterated those thoughts saying, “When you go at it like this since August, you don’t really get any time off.  And ours being so late in the year, we played nine games without having a break, and it’s tough. It’s tough. When you’re in an odd team district, somebody’s got to be at the end, and Abilene is at the very very end, so it’s a tough deal, but that’s just the way it is.  It’s all done fair and square, and wherever it falls it falls, and that’s the way it works, but it sure is nice to get some time off.”

The bye comes after Central’s final home game of the season, a 42-21 victory over Bell.  The win put them at 5-4 on the season and 3-2 in the district. Speaking on his players' performance in that game, Davis focused on the defense and their second half shutout, “Helping that shutout was the turnovers.  Bell put it on the ground a couple times, and we were there to get it.  They gave us a short field. They gave us a chance to get out there and get a couple quick ones and that was the difference in the game. The second half by the defense was by far the part of it that kick-started the whole deal.”

Afterward, speaking on the game as a whole, Davis answered a question about Ashton Hartsfield.  The powerful junior running back had one of his best performances of the season with seven carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns.  One of those scores came on a 68 yard scamper to extend the lead to 35-21. 

“I thought it was awesome [the long TD run].  We see that in practice. He’s got a burst. He’s got a knack.  When he gets out in the open, he’s hard to catch.”  Davis also chuckled when asked about his hairstyle.  “He came in the other day and said he was working on it [the mullet]. I said, well, it looks pretty good right now.”

Elsewhere in the presser, Davis reflected on the murkiness within the district and how he thinks it will play out (2:50).  If Haltom beats Bell this Friday, then Central/Haltom will likely be a play-in game for a playoff spot. Unfortunately for Central, that is a road game.  They are 1-3 on the road so far.  “We have to get off the bus ready to play,” Davis said. We’ve talked about it, and we’re trying to do some things to change some of our routine to see if that will help.  But we’ve got to be mature enough now to understand that we’ve got to get off and be ready to play.”

Davis ended by previewing the Haltom game (5:10) and what, if any, points of emphasis will be worked on during the extended break (6:20).