Harbin, Bulldogs turning up intensity as district play begins

When Cache Middle School football fans were arriving at Ulrich Stadium Tuesday to watch the 7th- and 8th-grade Bulldogs compete against Altus, they were able to catch a few minutes of the Cache High School team practicing and it wasn’t just a normal practice.

Cache’s first defensive unit was getting a good look at what the Bulldogs will face tonight when Woodward comes to Cache for the first District 4A-1 game. The coach holding the play cards and working with the scout team was none other than Head Coach Faron Griffin.

His presence was not lost on the younger players and fans who were watching the action on the field.

Taking some of those scout team snaps was Cache starting quarterback Tyler Harbin.

“We could all sense a different attitude the past two weeks,” the senior said. “Coach Griffin is always energetic and we feed off of his energy. We could tell out there Tuesday that this was a different feeling with the district season arriving. His level of intensity was a sign that we needed to do the same.”

Harbin knows that even though he’s not part of the Cache defense, he understands how important that group is entering the district games.

“We knew that Coach Griffin wanted to give the defense a really good look at what Woodward’s offense is going to show us Friday,” Harbin said. “Our defense has been playing well and as our offense grows and matures it’s important for us to move the football and execute well.

“We know there are tough teams like Weatherford, Clinton and Elk City coming up later in the season and we have to improve each week.”

Harbin says it is important that the offense does its job well this week.

“Our schedule was tough with good teams like Tuttle and Elgin and those games showed us our weaknesses,” Harbin said. “We know what we needed to work on and for the offense it was about execution; missing a block or a wrong route run by a receiver. We also have to limit turnovers. The two weeks of practice helped us clean up those things along with working to cut down on penalties.”

Harbin said the Boomers come in with a “good defense” that relies on a Cover-3 look where the safeties will crash the line of scrimmage to try and help stop the Cache running game.

“They have one big defensive lineman who is pretty good and they will throw some blitz packages at us,” Harbin said. “I think we match up pretty well with them.”

Being a senior and a quarterback does put some pressure on Harbin to be a leader but he’s not as vocal as he feels he should be moving forward.

“I spend a good deal of time with student council and FCA, plus I also enjoy our Bulldog Buddies program,” he said. “My group are in the 2nd and 3rd grade and my time with them is really an exciting part of football. We try and teach them about football but we also talk to them about making good decisions and they ask a lot of very good questions. It is something we all enjoy.”

While Harbin doesn’t chow down like the linemen, he does enjoy the meal those big guys long to get.

“I love a good ribeye steak cooked medium rare with loaded mashed potatoes,” he said with a big smile.

When it comes to the classroom Harbin is making the most of his time.

“I’m taking three college courses this semester; English Comp I, US History 1865 to present and Algebra,” he said. “I have a goal to attend college at OU and major in Health and Exercise Science with a goal of getting into the medical field or maybe into physical therapy.”

For now his focus is definitely on Woodward because he knows the importance of getting a good start in district.

“We’ve made that long road trip before, so we understand how hard it is to drive that far and then play a game,” Harbin said. “We need to come out fast and set a good tempo and keep the pressure on them on both sides of the ball. Getting a good start in this district will go a long way toward us reaching our goal of making the playoffs, especially for us seniors.”

And a big win tonight will make next week meeting with his Bulldog Buddies even more special if he can share a 1-0 district record with his young friends.