[luvthegame]

You're right. Will Rice and Kamron Smith are fantastic football players and have been for many years for the Russell program. It's a shame that Stapleton is out for the year as he would have made this defense even better. Travis Jones is proving to be one of the hardest hitters in the area. Even though we haven't faced a passing team yet, I like the play of the secondary as well. Korzep has impressed, too. The bottom line is that the defense is pretty good.

Russell is in a tough situation, though, because the best guys on defense are also their best offensive players. It seems like it would be difficult to balance keeping them fresh. You rest them on offense and you get 3 and outs. Then they have to play defense again right away. You rest them on defense and you give up more yardage. What to do?

Yes to all. And the Navarone kid not playing was a big blow. But kids playing both ways in high school is common everywhere in smaaler schools especially. Being an alumnus and following the program, I know Mcglone has never really pre-season conditioned his kids. It has been said Mcglone prefers to game condition in the non-district games so they are fresher at the end. While its hard to argue his success, I know I have witnessed games where conditioning was the deciding factor whether in score, cramps or real injuries. Ever notice how over the years Russel kids get many cramps and the other team not so much?