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The Newbie's:
Jerrod's Interview
with the Junior
Varsity Freshman |
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This week, I’m doing
something totally
different with the
Player Interview.
This week, I will
feature five
football players
from the Junior
Varsity Football
squad. They all have
one thing in common:
they are all
freshman. That’s
right, this week, I
will take on the
task of asking five
of Hartford High
School’s newest
football players to
answer some
questions and
profile them. This
week, I’ll be
profiling Junior
Varsity standouts
Matt Najacht,
Phillip Woodward,
Austin Snedden,
Brant Koshar and
Cameron Collins.
Each of these
players serves a
huge role on the
team. |
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Najacht, who is #7 on the roster, serves as the teams starting
Quarterback and also
plays some Safety
for the Junior
Varsity. He has
plenty of playing
experience at other
levels. Najacht told
me that he has been
playing the
Quarterback position
before even the
Middle School
levels. This season
has been a mixture
of ups and downs for
Matt. In the seasons
first few games, a
mistake here and a
mistake there killed Najacht’s composure.
But in the teams
third game with
Martin, Najacht was
able to put together
his first "complete
game". Najacht threw
for two touchdowns,
including a 90 yard
TD to the later |
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(Jerrod Birmele Photo) |
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mentioned Brant Koshar in a 26-0
win. Najacht has
been struggling as
of recent, but hopes
to turn his fortunes
around soon. |
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(Jerrod Birmele Photo) |
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Woodward,
who wears
#88, starts
on both
sides of the
ball for the
green and
white. He is
the teams
starting
Tight End on
offense and
plays Safety
on the other
side of the
ball.
Woodward has
been one of
the most
consistent
players this
season. He
has good
hands on the
offensive
side of the
ball, as he
seems to
catch the
ball every
time it
comes to
him. He also
has a good
mind on the
defensive
side of the
ball and
rarely lets
tackles get
by him
often, if at
all. He has
been part of
some big
plays this
year. One of
those big
plays was
when he
returned a
kickoff 65
yards
against
Saugatuck, a
touchdown |
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that would bring the
Indians back into
the game, before
they eventually were
beaten. Most
recently, during the
Lawton game,
Woodward was injured
after a touchdown
catch in the end
zone, hurting his
knee and sitting out
the rest of the
game. However, the
football player
Phillip is, he was
back in the lineup
in Decatur, where he
had eleven yards
receiving and eight
tackles. Woodward
was also out for the
second half versus
Marcellus with an
undetermined injury. |
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Snedden, who wears #40, also is a two way starter for the Indians.
He is one of the top
two tailbacks for
the Indians, sharing
the backfield with
fellow freshman
Shayne Carlson. He
plays Outside
Linebacker on
defense, as well.
Austin, the brother
of former two year
starting Indian
player Tyler
Snedden, showed his
potential early this
season and over the
course of the first
seven weeks of this
season, has
gradually become an
important player for
your Indians.
Snedden has scored
six touchdowns this
year on the ground.
Snedden also is a
beast at the
linebacker position,
racking up the
tackles. |
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(Jerrod Birmele Photo) |
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Austin was recently
injured during
practice in the run
up to the Lawton
game and missed that
game and his
contributions were
missed. He did
return to the lineup
in Decatur and he
rushed for a
touchdown, 32 yards
on the ground and
racked up 8 tackles,
including one for a
loss. Snedden could
definitely be a
Varsity player next
year. |
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(Jerrod Birmele Photo) |
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Koshar, who wears both #4 and #5 depending on the location of game,
has been a player on
a mission as of
late. Koshar plays
the Tight End
position on offense,
usually opposite of
Phillip Woodward and
on defense, Brant
plays a corner. As
of late, of the
players mentioned
above, Koshar has
shown the most
improvement and it’s
starting to show
with the playing
time he is
receiving. During
the first two games
or so of the season,
Koshar was seen on
the sidelines and
would rarely get the
chance to play. But
with a depleted
defense due to
nagging injuries and
some players
quitting, Koshar was
moved |
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into more of a role.
He now consistently
is in on the
offensive side of
the ball on every
play. And his 90
yard touchdown catch
versus Martin helped
a lot of things. In
Lawton, due to
injuries to both
Austin Snedden
and Shayne Carlson,
Koshar started on
defense and was
moved from corner to
outside linebacker
and did a good job. |
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Collins, who wears #81 or #12 depending on location, is the newest
member of this
group. Cameron,
after hearing of
several people
dropping out of
football, was
brought in to pick
up the load of the
departed players.
Cameron played
Middle School
football the last
two years before
deciding not to play
until recently.
Cameron plays Wide
Receiver on offense,
Corner on defense.
Cameron has only
been playing for two
weeks, but has made
a contribution to
the team as a whole.
He has quickly
learned both
offensive and
defensive schemes
and is getting
better and better
each week. Last
week, he had 4 |
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(Jerrod Birmele Photo) |
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tackles, up from 1
in the game with
Decatur. And with
some key injuries
playing vital,
Cameron is sure to
see more playing
time. |
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Recently, I was able to sit down and talk to these guys and get
their answers to
tough questions: |
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MATT NAJACHT: |
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Matt, thanks for
your time. Being a
first time athlete
in the High School
playing football,
what kind of
differences have you
noticed and had to
make? |
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Matt: Going
from Middle School
to High School ball
has been a real
difference for me. I
mean, the atmosphere
is different and so
is the skill of the
kids you play. In
8th grade, you only
played people in
your grade. In JV,
you sometimes play
the upper classman.
I have had to change
everything that I
did in 8th grade. |
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Being the
Quarterback of the
JV team, sometimes
you take the brunt
when we lose and the
praise when we win.
Is that ever hard on
you? And how has
playing quarterback
been for you? |
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Matt: When we
win, of course it
feels great. But
when we lose, it's a
whole different
story. You get
criticized by
everybody that isn't
your teammates, but
it sort of helps me,
because it only
makes me work
harder. |
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What do you believe
has been your best
game? Or your worst?
And what things have
you learned that
have made you a
better Quarterback
this season? |
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Matt: My best
game would have to
be against Martin. I
had 2 TD's, one for
90 yards and another
for 30 yards. We win
26-0. My worst game
would have to be
against Watervliet.
I had 4 INT's and
only one TD. |
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There are two games
left. We sit at 1-6.
I know you want to
win out this season.
What kind of things
will the team need
to do to accomplish
that? How about
yourself? |
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Matt: Of
course, we would
like to win out the
season, but it's not
going to be easy. We
are going to work as
hard at practice and
limit our mistakes.
On the other hand, I
need to calm down,
make smart decisions
and run if I have
to. |
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Final question: When
you look back at the
2007 season, what
things will you
remember most? |
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Matt: This
season, two things
stand out to me, 1
good, 1 bad. The
good thing is when
we goose egged
Martin to get our
first win. The one
bad thing is at
Decatur; to see the
lights getting shut
off before the game
was finished and
before we even left
the field, it was
one of the worst
feelings ever. |
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PHILLIP WOODWARD: |
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Phillip, thanks for
your time. Being a
football player for
the first time in
high school, what
has been the biggest
adjustment you've
had to make? |
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Phillip: The
biggest adjustment
for me is the speed.
JV is a lot faster
and upbeat than
Middle School. |
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As the chief Tight
End this season,
you've been a player
who has had to carry
some of the
offensive load. And
it's come with a lot
of success. What has
made you this good
on the field and are
you surprised not
only by your
success, but by the
coaches belief in
you? |
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Phillip:
Well, our offense
has worked hard this
season, and yes,
I've carried some of
the load. I just
work hard and do my
best. I'm not really
surprised in my
success. I'm not
really satisfied
either. I could be
better. Being the
starting tight end,
I'm not really
surprised in my
coaches belief in
me. |
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You were recently
injured during the
Lawton game and
returned for the
Decatur game. A lot
of people call that
surprising. But you
say no. Why is that?
And was there any
nervousness that you
could be injured
more than you were? |
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Phillip: I
say no, because I
get back on the
field as quick as I
can. I was kind of
nervous in hurting
my knee a little
more, but I got over
it and had a great
game. |
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My last question for
you is what do you
think this JV team
needs to adjust on
to have success the
next few games? What
adjustments do you
think you need on an
individual basis? |
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Phillip: Our
team needs to work
on the basics.
Communication,
wrapping up on
defense, just doing
your individual job
really. If we can do
that, we will be
fine. I personally
need to work on my
mental game. I need
to be more mentally
prepared. |
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AUSTIN SNEDDEN: |
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Austin, thanks for
your time. Being a
high school athlete
for the first time,
what adjustments
have you had to
make? |
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Austin: It's
definitely a
different experience
compared to Middle
School. I've been
looking forward to
playing in high
school, and now that
its finally come,
it's awesome. I
think the whole team
has had to work a
lot harder. |
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This season, as a
running back, you
seem to run with
ease. What has made
you so good at being
a running back? And
defensively, against
Decatur, you had 8
tackles. What is
your mentality when
you play defense? |
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Austin: I'm
not sure that I run
with ease. But I
just try to play my
best and when you
have the Varsity
guys helping you out
and pushing you, it
helps a lot. I guess
I just go out there
hoping that we'll
stop the other team
on every down. If we
do stop them,
awesome, but if we
don't, then we got
to go to work and
try again.
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What's your focus
for the rest of the
season? Seeing as
though you guys are
1-6, what things can
you improve on? And
do you think this
team can sweep the
rest of the games? |
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Austin: We
definitely can do
better in our first
halves. We've been
pretty terrible and
we need to not make
mistakes like we
have been. I think
if we work hard, we
can win the next
games, but we have
to be smart. |
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Lastly, with Varsity
having a running
back spot open, is
it something you
might go for next
season? |
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Austin: Yeah
for sure, but I'll
play wherever the
team needs me to
play just so that
Hartford wins. It
would be cool to be
a running back for
the Indians, but
whatever happens,
happens. Well, thanks
for having me. |
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BRANT KOSHAR: |
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Brant, thanks for
your time. Being a
first time High
School athlete, how
has the adaptation
been coming from
Middle School to
High School? |
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Brant: Coming
from Middle School
to High School, its
changed a lot. In
Middle School, the
coaches don't push
you to go 110%.
Janicki-he pushes
you to be your best.
If you don't get
something in the
beginning, he'll
push you until you
do. |
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Earlier in the
season, you were
seen on the bench
often. But as the
season has
progressed, you have
seen much more
playing time. What
has been your
biggest motivation
to keep working
hard? And how much
do you feel you've
improved and where
have you most
improved during the
season? |
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Brant: I feel
that I improved the
most on defense. |
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What do you like
playing more of,
offense or defense?
Why do you like
playing that
discipline more? |
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Brant: I like
playing offense
more, because I'm a
good Tight End and
if you throw the
ball to me, I'll get
about 10 yards or
more. |
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With two games left
in the season, do
you believe we can
win? What do you
believe this team
needs to work on?
How about yourself? |
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Brant: Yeah,
for the next two
weeks, I think we
can win. We just
need to be able to
get our offensive
plays down and stop
the other team while
on defense. Me, I
need to get my
blocks down on
offense. |
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CAMERON COLLINS: |
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Cameron, thanks for
your time. You are a
new member of the
football team. What
changed your mind to
come out and play
for the Indians? And
what's the biggest
difference in JV
Football from the
Middle School level? |
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Cameron:
Well, I wanted to
play and they needed
some more players
really bad, so I
said "what the heck"
and went out for it.
And now, I am
starting on
everything, so that
is pretty cool. I
think that the
biggest difference
is how much we care
now to win, but it's
not going so well
this year. |
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During the Decatur
game, us Hartford
fans saw you only on
defense. But against
Marcellus, you
played both ways.
With you coming out
so late and knowing
so little, is it
hard to learn the
plays or are you a
fast learner? And
what do you
attribute that to? |
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Cameron:
It was pretty easy
to learn everything,
because it was
almost the same as
last year, so that
wasn't very hard. I
just worked hard
during practice and
I was better than
some people, so they
now play me both
ways. |
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What kind of impact
to you does football
have for, say, other
sports? |
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Cameron:
Well, Jerrod,
football is not my
favorite sport. My
favorite sport is
basketball, but my
best sport is
baseball. So, I just
play for the love of
the game. And that
is why I am playing
mostly this year. |
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Lastly, the team has
two games to go.
What kinds of goals
would you set for
the rest of the
season for the team?
And how about
yourself? |
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Cameron:
Like I said, we have
to work hard and we
have to be a team.
And that should get
us the last two
victories of the
season. |
