The Lady Whippets fell to 0-2 in Region 3-4A play with their home loss last Tuesday to Caledonia. Caledonia’s size and depth proved too much for Kosciusko (1-9), according to head coach Greg Cooper.
“Caledonia is a good, big physical team that can play the ball really well,” Cooper said. “We didn’t play badly. We were a little standoffish, and gave them too much field. Our wind got us near the end. We got really tired.”
On Friday, Kosciusko hosted MHSAA Class 6A Starkville and held an early 1-0, first-half advantage over the Lady Yellowjackets before Starkville overtook the Lady Whippets en route to a victory.
Raven Parnell scored the Lady Whippets’ lone goal.
While Starkville ultimately earned the win, Cooper said he can notice the progression of his players, as they are beginning to enact points on emphasis during practices in games.
“We came out with great energy,” Cooper said. “We’ve really been pressing them and talking to them the last couple practices about how we approach everything and how much space we’re giving them, and just playing as a unit — playing together. We really did come out and play a lot better of a game… The wheels are turning, and everything is looking good if we can keep progressing forward.”
Kosciusko hosts Louisville on Tuesday before breaking for the Christmas holiday.
BOYS
Caledonia took advantage of a slow-starting Kosciusko (3-8) last Tuesday and earned a 3-0 road victory. Caledonia carried a 1-0 lead into halftime and rattled off two more goals in the final 40 minutes.
The loss dropped the Whippets to 1-1 in Region 3-4A play.
“We came out flat, and they attacked us,” Cooper said. “When they got that first goal, we just kind of got even flatter. We didn’t come out playing.”
Thomas Sims tallied a goal on the assist from Billy Paul Russell, but Starkville earned a 5-1 victory over Kosciusko last Friday.
Starkville led 2-0 before Sims’ goal trimmed the Whippets’ deficit in half, and
Cooper and his staff employed a new strategy against the Yellowjackets, which he said yielded positive results he believes will help the team become more competitive moving forward.
“Trying something new and testing it out on a good Starkville team was kind of a big task for us,” Cooper said. “We tried it, and we were able to get some of the ability up top. Billy Paul Russell made a nice cross, and Thomas Sims was there on the outside to put it away.”
Cooper played a number of reserve junior varsity players in the second half of the contest, and Starkville scored two goals during that span.
Kosciusko hosts Louisville on Tuesday before breaking for the Christmas holiday.
