Bobcats' Coach Smith Says Central Needs 'Continuous Improvement'

SAN ANGELO, TX — The Central Bobcats (3-3, 0-1 in district) face arguably the toughest matchup of their season on Friday when they travel to Odessa to take on the Permian Panthers (5-1, 1-0 in district).

After a tough loss at home to Midland Legacy last week, Central faces a must-win in one of the toughest places to play in Texas if the Bobcats want to compete for a district championship.

Head coach Mark Smith held a press conference at San Angelo Stadium on Monday, October 14, to discuss the loss to Midland Legacy and what the Bobcats need to do to overcome Permian on Friday.

When asked what Central needed to improve on Smith was frank with his answer.

"Overall, everything, really," Smith said in his opening statement. "There's always continuous improvement in our play. I told the guys that everybody needs to be a guy on the rise, improving in an area or two all the time. You can't be stagnant or take any steps back. We need that consistently on our team."

The Bocbats played an excellent offensive game with 42 points last Friday, but struggled defensively, giving up 58 points overall and 51 points on defense. As talented as Midland Legacy is as a football team, Permian is not far behind athletically.

"This league is a 48-minute fist fight from the jump," Smith said of District 2-6A. That was a physical game that was back-and-forth for a long time. We kind of just got worn down there, especially in the 4th quarter.

Missed tackles, penalties, and the inability to get off the field on 3rd down ultimately doomed the Bobcats' defense. Despite the loss to Midland Legacy, this defensive unit is still arguably the most improved this season. If the Bobcats can get on the same page with their offense and defense, then the 'Cats have a good chance to win on Friday.

Watch Smith's entire press conference here.

Kickoff on Friday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa.