BROCKWELL - Woodlawn Coach Doug Means said he will be changing up his practices this week after his Bears got off to a disastrous start and the Izard County Cougars never let up in a 60-8 non-conference loss Friday night at Cougar Stadium in Brockwell.
Woodlawn, which fell to 1-2 after the defeat, had four turnovers in the game - the first two coming on their first two possessions - and were penalized for 104 yards total, 79 of which came before the 11-minute mark of the second quarter.
The turnovers and penalties had the Bears completely frustrated by the start of the second quarter and the Cougars pounced, taking advantage of the misques and some good field position to build a 32-0 lead before Woodlawn ever got on the board.
Those four turnovers came in the form of two lost fumbles, an interception and a lost onside kick. Through the first three games of the season, the Bears now turned it over 11 times while taking it away from their opponents three times.
Means, who was equally frustrated after the game, shouldered the blame.
“The heat has been hurting us because we just can’t practice the way we should be able to practice in this heat,” he said as his players were leaving the field after the game.
“When we only have 16 guys, our practices just haven’t been as good as they should be. And that’s my fault for maybe taking it easy on them in this heat and stuff, but it has definitely translated into these last two games and stuff,” he said. “The lack of intensity in practice has hurt us. And I think that shows in the turnovers especially.”
While the turnovers were a major factor, so were the penalties, which started early and often.
Izard County took the opening kickoff and went 51 yards in 14 plays with Kane Johnson hitting James Down for a 12-yard touchdown strike. Land Aultman ran in the two-pointer to give the Cougars a 8-0 lead with 6:20 left in the first quarter.
Along the way, the Bears were flagged twice, both on fourth-day …