Wright Expects Stronger Dragons D In Week 2

York played without Starting Linebacker Joseph Linder in week one and head coach Derwin Wright said it showed on his defense.

Linder missed the game because of a incident in the game last season against East Robertson. With the suspension lifted, Wright said he expects more cohesion on defense in this week’s match-up versus Grace Christian Academy.

“Anytime your depth’s not where it ought to be and you know you’re not just bringing in number two, you’re actually having to jostle people around and move somebody to a different spot,” Wright said. “There’s going to be breakdowns. So, that helps us from that standpoint of the game plan.”

Wright said in the week one loss to Clay County, starting safety Lake Drake played linebacker, so his secondary depth was thin and it showed. This week they’ll face a Grace Christian Academy team from Knoxville that put up 63 points last week.

“Their quarterback is a really dynamic quarterback as far as staying in the pocket, where he throws the ball,” Wright said. “A lot of team have one or two targets, but he’s throwing the ball to a lot of different receivers. And they’re doing a good job protecting him. And those are things we did not do a good job of last week.”

Wright said defensive communication was lacking last Friday and his secondary got beat on deep routes due to players not understanding their assignments. He said those are points of emphasis in this week’s preparation for a GCA team that likes to air the ball out.

“Well, I think they are going to be more comfortable and play better,” Wright said. “We had some alignment issues, we had some issues where we didn’t communicate. In practice they look more comfortable, we had a good week of practice. But, we won’t know until we get on that field Friday night.”

York Institute travels to Knoxville Friday to take on Grace Christian Academy.