Q&A with Coach Jernigan

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Rangers’ junior quarterback Josh Thatcher hands off to junior fullback Anthony Tibbetts during the Homecoming game against Big Piney on Friday, Sept. 22. The Rangers lost to the Punchers 34–12.(GAZETTE PHOTO / Michelle Tibbetts)

This is Coach Bart Jernigan's first year as head coach for the Kemmerer Rangers. 

The Rangers have chosen not to introduce themselves individually at the start of each game. Why is that?

“The pregame introduction idea was actually something that was voted on by our team’s player leader crew (a group of peer-selected leaders that help make team decisions) in the off-season. It has brought these young men closer as a team.  The realization that when we succeed, we never do it alone, has been instrumental in our improvement this year. Team unity is the glue that holds a group of boys together through the long days, the hard days, and every day in between. It has a lot to do with the ‘We Are KR’ motto we have. When teams have that mentality, special things can happen.”

Anthony Tibbetts had a good game on both sides of the ball. How will you continue to use him throughout the rest of the season?

“Anthony Tibbetts is a young man that has some incredible potential. The crazy thing is I think he will continue to get better because of the work that he puts in. He was voted by his peers as a team captain this year, and to me that signals a lot about how important he is to this team. His play at fullback is a catalyst to every single thing we are trying to do on offense. Take for example both of the scores we had — they were set up by fakes to Anthony. Having a fullback of his caliber makes the offense go.”

Hayden Walker had a great offensive game with two touchdowns. What role do you see him playing in the future?

“Hayden rose to the occasion offensively this week. Beyond that he was integral in helping stop a pretty dynamic offense. Hayden plays with a passion for the game that is contagious. One of the biggest changes for our offense this year was the inclusion of the tight end into it. Hayden was a key element in my decision to play with a tight end this year. He gives us the ability to help pull defenders out of the box and go big on play action when teams overplay our run game.”

Your defense went up against some big Puncher boys, but showed a lot of heart in working together and sticking each tackle. How will you help your defense get a little quicker?

“Being quick on defense is a two-part equation. One part is individual agility and speed. This aspect is a pretty tough element to make dramatic gains on during the season, but our strength and conditioning courses at the high school do a good job of helping develop kids in terms of individual athleticism. The other aspect of defensive quickness is the mental ability of the defender to read his key properly and react to what he sees in a quick manner. This is the type of quickness that we can most directly improve within the course of the season. We faced two of the fastest teams we will see this year in the past two weeks, so our quickness has been tested, and overall we have done OK against this speed, but we are definitely looking to make some growth in this manner over these coming weeks.”

There were a lot of penalties in the 4th quarter, which really slowed down the game. Do you think that affected your team negatively?

“Penalties are a killer. They get you twice; once on the penalty yardage and again on the yards you lose from the play. We were a little bit sloppy in that fourth quarter. We have to make an effort to keep our focus for a whole four quarters and limit the penalties that we are taking.”

How will you prepare for the Greybull game?

“Greybull is a stout team and we get to go to their place. It is quite the opportunity. The biggest goal we have is to improve every day. So a lot of our preparations will be fixing things from this week’s game footage. I like to try to keep the focus on doing what we do well, as opposed to being overly focused on what the opponent does.”

What’s one thing you want the boys to know after this loss?

“These young men have a lot to be excited about. The obvious goal of each game is to come out of it with a victory, but in a broader sense, the daily individual and collective improvement along with the manner in which we play is paramount to winning. If we do that and seek to be better every game, the score board will take care of itself. We are far from a finished. perfected product, but we are making huge strides that are significant in terms of the future of the program. So in short, I’d tell these young men thanks, I love being their coach, I love them, and to keep trusting the process; big things are coming.”