Frederick Douglass coach Nathan McPeek has a singular message to his players every time they face a tough situation: “Make a play.”
On Friday at The Farm, No. 1 Male (5-1) made a few more plays than McPeek’s team in a 31-28 Bulldogs win that Douglass trailed throughout.
Male’s passing connection of Jordan Williams to Antonio Harris struck for three first-half touchdowns, including a 73-yard bomb to start the second quarter, but Douglass kept the game close despite a costly special teams miscue and a fumble.
As McPeek gathered his team at the 30-yard line for his postgame talk, he told them to shut out the outside noise, take a hard look at themselves and be ready to get to work on winning out the rest of the season. District rival Madison Central (4-1) hosts Douglass next Friday.
“We’ve got to get in the film room and learn from it,” McPeek said. “It is what it is. We made (negative) plays, and we’ve got to get them fixed, but (Male) is a good team. They beat us, but I think we’re right there with everybody.”