After just four weeks of games, Tallassee is taking a break from competition as it looks to rest up and make tweaks during a bye week to prepare for the second half of the season. However, instead of a normal bye week, the Tigers will have to face almost three weeks between games and there is plenty of concern about how it will affect the players moving forward.
“We probably could use a break,” Tallassee coach Mike Battles said. “I don’t know how I feel about having two weeks off in the middle of the season but there’s nothing we can do about it. We’re going to practice three days a week over the next two weeks and get everyone fresh again. We have to make sure we stay in shape and then get ready for the second half of the season.”
Tallassee (2-2) faced Early County (Georgia) in Week 4 last season but with a return trip out of the picture now, the Tigers will play only nine games with back-to-back bye weeks. With the extra time off, Battles said it gives the players time to reflect on the positives from the first part of the season and time to correct some of the mistakes.
“We have grown up a whole lot considering the four teams we have had to play,” Battles said. “It has been two physical football teams going at it every week. We have hung in there and made some plays. I think we have come a million miles but we still have a long way to go.”
One of those key pieces to the team’s growth has been quarterback Tyler Ellis. Despite being named the team’s full-time starter before Week 0, the Tigers did not rely on Ellis to make many throws the first game. However, Ellis had his most effective game against Carroll using short quick throws to open up some chances down field which he used to throw a touchdown pass to Tavarious Griffin.
“He has a lot more confidence,” Battles said. “He’s starting to really feel comfortable back there and be more consistent. He just doesn’t get rattled and he’s very coachable. Every time he gets a chance to take a snap in a live football game, he’s going to get better.”
Battles said the Tigers have shown progress in playing as a team since the season started so he wants to make sure they do not lose that mentality while being off the field for so long. While there will be extra time for some rest, he wants the players to feel like each week is like normal — just without a game.
“We go out and practice the same routine we always do,” Battles said. “We want to make sure we continue to make progress. We don’t want to be in the same spot in two weeks as we are right now. We have to improve and take all of it seriously.”
The difficult part of a bye week is trying to balance rest with preparation. Battles said he has always used the same formula during a bye week but having two in a row is a first during his 20-year coaching career and it presents a new challenge, especially this early in the season.
“A big benefit would be to get some of your players healed up but we don’t really have any injuries right now,” Battles said. “There’s going to be a fine line between how much you want to do and how much rest you want to give them. We’ll see how it works out.”
The Tigers will get extra time to prepare for their next Class 5A Region 2 opponent, Valley. While Battles said there is plenty of work to do on his own team, they will not waste an opportunity to get a jump start on scouting the next opponent.
“We’ll look at Valley a little bit but mainly we’re going to make sure we correct those things we’re still making mistakes on,” Battles said. “We have to be ready for everyone. We have five big games left on the schedule.”