Five Downs with Coach Polites: Playoff Edition

Well, it's playoff time already. Tonight, the Bears travel to West Lawn to take on the No. 1 ranked and undefeated Wilson Bulldogs in the first round of the District Three Quad-A playoffs. I caught up with E-town head coach Jeff Polites today to chat a little about tonight's big game. Here is the first playoff edition of Five Downs with Coach Polites. Enjoy.

First Down: How do you prepare for a defense as good as Wilson's? How you think your offense will give them trouble?
Coach Polites: We have an attack that is tough to defend with all the possible ball carriers and pass catchers. This will give us an advantage over most defensive schemes.

Second Down: How important is it for your kids to realize that they can play with Wilson? And how do you get them to believe that?
Coach Polites: That is the most important thing of all. Nothing else will matter if we can not get over the mental hurdle. We have been preaching all week about the game is played on the field and our effort and execution of the game plan is the only thing we can control.

Third Down: Does this seem like a game that will be won or lost at the line of scrimmage?
Coach Polites: Most games are won or lost at the line of scrimmage. Tonight it will be even more important to match the intensity at the line of scrimmage.

Fourth Down: How do you think your returning team leaders will use last year's playoff run to their advantage?
Coach Polites: It is always nice to draw from prior experience to help us eliminate any hesitation. Hopefully this will be another step in being a consistent postseason team.

Fifth Down: Is it more difficult to prepare for a team that you've only seen on film?
Coach Polites: I like playing a team that we are unfamiliar with. It gives us another experience at a different offense and defense. It is our opportunity to challenge ourselves against a quality opponent.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

This week, the 6-3 Bears welcome the 6-3 Lebanon Cedars to round out the regular season. E-town is in good shape for the playoffs and should be in win or lose, but can cement their place and possibly improve their seeding with a win. I caught up with head coach Jeff Polites about tonight's regular season finale.

First Down: How are you guys injury-wise?
Coach Polites: We have 3 of the 5 that were out last week. We should be totally healthy for the first round of the playoffs.

Second Down: You've faced several good passing teams all year, but how is Lebanon different from them?
Coach Polites: Lebanon runs a similar offense to most of the teams in the league. They seem to get a lot more offensive plays than the others.

Third Down: How do you plan to contain quarterback James Capello's ability to beat you with his arm and his legs? (Note: Capello has more than 2,200 passing yards and 800 rushing yards).
Coach Polites: We must keep him in the pocket with the DE's and pressure him up the middle with the tackles and LBs.

Fourth Down: Is the running game and chewing time of the clock even more important this week with the caliber of Lebanon's offense?
Coach Polites: That is our plan every week and it is very important this week.

Fifth Down: You could still get into the playoffs with a win or a loss tonight, but how important is it to the players to win and control their own destiny?
Coach Polites: We should be in no matter the result tonight. We are looking for a 7-3 regular season record. That will be our main focus tonight.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

Tonight, the Elizabethtown Area High School football team travels to Ephrata's War Memorial Field to take on the winless Mounts. E-town is coming off of two straight losses, but is still 5-3 and ranked 13th in the latest District Three Class AAAA rankings. Here is the latest installment of five downs with EAHS head coach Jeff Polites.

First Down: How did the players respond this week after the Central game?
Coach Polites: We had a great week of practice and they are ready to get back to our winning ways.

Second Down: I know the offensive line is dinged up, but is this a good week to get their confidence back?
Coach Polites: They are a tough group of kids and are looking forward to the challenges this week.

Third Down: Have you had to preach to the players not to look past Ephrata, or is the focus there?
Coach Polites: They remember last year in a similar type of game when they out played us. The players have really concentrated on our improvement more than our opponent.

Fourth Down: What did you see from last week's film that you corrected this week?
Coach Polites: We were out of position on defense for most of the game, which gave them opportunities that we could have eliminated. We went back to very basic defensive alignments and reads.

Fifth Down: I know you don't like to look past any week, but is it setting in to the team and coaches the importance of finishing strong in order to make the playoffs?
Coach Polites: We would like to get some momentum going if we are fortunate to make into districts.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

Well, tonight's the night. E-town. Manheim Central. 7 p.m. Be there.

E-town head coach Jeff Polites was nice enough to answer a few questions about tonight's huge game. Here you go:

First Down: All section games are huge, but with Central being a game up in the standings on you, how big is this one tonight?
Coach Polites: It is a big game. The kids have worked very hard to create this atmosphere and make this game a big one. They are looking forward to tonight.

Second Down: How have the players responded so far from last week's tough loss?
Coach Polites: They had a great week of practice. It is nice to have a big game like this right now. The team is really focused and ready to play.

Third Down: Is Alex Kirchner going to play tonight? (He injured his knee last week).
Coach Polites: Alex will play and he will pressure the QB.

Fourth Down: Does playing Central fire the kids up any more?
Coach Polites: They have heard about this opportunity all their life and tonight it comes true for them. The excitement is like none I have ever seen before.

Fifth Down: Central is a tough environment to play in. how important is it to jump out to an early lead on the road tonight?
Coach Polites: We can only control inside the lines one play at a time. Their field is exactly the same size as ours. Our fans will be crazy, so there will be no home field advantage.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

This week, the Bears welcome in Cocalico in a key Section Two matchup. Here is the latest installment of Five Downs with Coach Polites:

First Down: Is there any sort of revenge factor on the players' minds after losing to Cocalico last year?
Coach: Not at all. We are only playing for this year. Last season is in the past and we have not referred to that game at all. Our focus is on this year's game.

Second Down: How are you planning to slow down (Cocalico RB) Kyle Fisher both on offense and on kick returns?
Coach: We will not kick to him at all on special teams and he is usually the pitch man on their option. We will have a defender assigned to him every play.

Third Down: Cocalico is the top rushing team in the league, but you guys were very stout against the run last week. Is the defense confident in their ability to contain the Cocalico's rush?
Coach: The kids are excited to put our defense against the top running team. They are taking it as a personal challenge.

Fourth Down: How important is it for your offense to sustain drives and chew up the clock when it has the ball?
Coach: That has been our game plan all season and we will keep doing that.

Fifth Down: What the atmosphere like on the practice field and in the locker room this week?
Coach: The practices have been upbeat. Every week is approached like a championship game.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

This week, the 4-1/2-0 Bears host the 4-1/2-0 Garden Spot Spartans. Both teams are tied for first place in Section Two, so this is a big game to say the least. Here's what head coach Jeff Polites had to say about tonight's game.

First Down: Does the fact that you've played a good passing team already (Muhlenberg) help your secondary with slowing down Garden Spot's attack?

Coach: We have had numerous opportunities this season to defend the pass. Our non-league teams really prepared us for many different types of offenses

Second Down: Most of your team leaders are pretty used to playing in big games after last year. Will that help you this Friday night?

Coach: I think that those experiences and the fact that we played in close games already this season will give us an advantage in that area. We know that our kids can respond under pressure.

Third Down: What's the biggest key to disrupting Garden Spot's passing attack?

Coach: Pressure on the QB is always a plus when you play a passing team. We will try to get that pressure with the front four then send LB's if necessary. Our skilled kids in the secondary will be a great help with the pass rush.

Fourth Down: How much will the offensive line and the offense as a whole use last week's performance to build off?

Coach: It is great to have a solid performance to use as an example of what we want every week out of that group. Our line is looking to be consistent for the remainder of the schedule.

Fifth Down: Considering your next three games, how important is it to get a win this week going into Cocalico and Central?

Coach: One week at a time. We will start to look at Cocalico and Manheim when they are our next opponent.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

Here is the latest installment of Five Downs with Coach Polites.

This week, the Bears (3-1 overall, 1-0 section) travel to take on Conestoga Valley (0-4, 0-1) on Friday night at 7 p.m.

First Down: How have the players responded with a short week of practice? Do you think it will hurt them tomorrow night?

Coach: We had a great week of practice. The short week should not effect our play.


Second Down: How do you keep the team from not looking past CV?

Coach: It is our job to get our kids to play to potential. We have not done that this year, so our goal is to play four solid quarters. We focused more on our improvement than on the record of our opponent.

Third Down: Is this an important game to get the offense's confidence back after facing that tough Solanco D last week?

Coach: Yes, that is our main goal this week. We have to get our offense comfortable again and scoring TDs when we cross the 50 yard line.

Fourth Down: Has the offensive line come together a little more this week?

Coach: I have seen the most improvement in that group this week. They are a proud group and I can't wait to see their performance.

Fifth Down: What are CV's biggest strengths and how do you plan to counter that?

Coach: They get the ball to their athletes on the open field and beat you one on one. We have to limit the number of times they put us in a bad matchup.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

The Bears roll into Solanco Saturday night for both teams' Section Two opener. Both teams are 2-1 and coming off of wins last week. This is also a matchup of last year's Section Two co-champions. Should be a good one. Here's the latest installment of Five Downs with Coach Polites, for your enjoyment.

First Down: Solanco is playing its first home game of the year in it's newly refurbished stadium. How do you expect to counter their adrenaline of playing at home for the first time?

Coach: We need to score early and control the ball. If we can get to the point where we are playing consistent E-town football, the external items will not matter much.


Second Down: How big of a lift was last week's win heading into section play?

Coach:It was a great lift for us. We had a lot of things to work on from the film and the kids came out with a good purpose this week.


Third Down: What are the pros and cons of playing a Saturday game?

Coach: The good thing is that we get an extra day to prepare for our opponent. The bad thing is that next week is a shortened preparation period for the coaches.


Fourth Down: How do you think your nonleague schedule helped you prepare for battle in Section 2?

Coach: Our non-league schedule was probably one of the toughest in the section. It will pay great dividends for us when we play our league opponents especially in tight games.


Fifth Down: What does the offense need to do to put some points on the board against Solanco's stout defense?

Coach: Play assignment football in reference to our blocking assignments. We must continue to gain positive yards on first down and move the chains with solid offensive line play.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

The Bears play hosts to Manheim Township tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Thompson Field. I caught up with E-town head coach Jeff Polites today to get his take on the game. Here is the second installment of Five Downs with Coach Polites. Enjoy.


First Down: In practice this week, how has the team responded after last week's loss?
Coach: The response was fantastic. We realized how close we were to beating a good team and took great pride in making our game better in all areas.

Second Down: What kind of game do you expect against Township?
Coach: I expect a tough, hard-hitting game. Our kids play very physical defense and (Township) has not given up a touchdown this season. It could be another exciting night at home.

Third Down: What's the defensive game plan against Township and its "Razorback" offense?
Coach: We have faced the same offense against McCaskey and Muhlenberg, they just did not have a specific name for it. Our kids are well prepared for their offensive sets and plays.

Fourth Down: On offense, how do you deal with their missile of a linbacker, Nick Sizemore?
Coach: He is their main defender. He makes plays all over the field and is very physical. We need to make sure he is accounted for in all our blocking schemes.

Fifth Down: How important is it to win this game and get some confidence heading into section play?
Coach: This is the third of our rescheduling tough non-league games. We want to head into league play at 2-1. It is very important for us to clean up our mistakes from the first two games so we can focus on the little things next week.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

I wanted to try something new here at The Bears Den this football season, and E-town head coach Jeff Polites has been kind enough to help me out. Before every E-town football game this season, we'll run something called Five Downs with Coach Polites. I'll send Jeff five quick questions about that week's game, and I'll post it every Thursday. Many thanks to Jeff for making this thing happen. Hopefully it'll give you some more insight on the game.



Up first is this week's matchup with Muhlenberg, this Friday at 7 p.m. at Thompson Field. Enjoy.

First down: How do you plan to slow down Muhlenberg's passing attack?

Coach: We plan on changing coverages often to confuse their offense. We will move and adjust so we have good matchups with their best players, as well as limiting their time to throw with linebacker pressure.

Second down: Was it a help for your team to attend camp with them? (E-town attended its summer team camp at LVC with the Muhls.)

Coach: It was helpful for both teams since it is the first time we will play. There is not an advantage to one team or the other.

Third down: What was the practice atmosphere like this week?

Coach: It has been an excellent week of practice so far. We had an extra day to prepare with the whole team since the JVs played on Saturday. The players are excited for this challenge.

Fourth down: How will playing at home for the first time help the team this week?

Coach: We like to think of our home field a special place to play. We seem to play better at home, so it will definitely be to our advantage for the first time playing Muhlenberg

Fifth down: What do you think is the biggest key to victory?

Coach: We must eliminate their big plays and make them drive the ball. On offense, we need to be mistake free and control the ball with sustained drives and score while limiting their opportunities on offense.