Aurora football fans are expecting a lot of change from the Houn’ Dawgs this year, and it starts with a new head coach.
In any sport, installing a new system can present its challenges.
“They’re confused, and our older guys are confused, and everyone’s confused,” said Aurora football head coach Brandon Pitts.
Pitts may see confusion, but his players feel confident.
“It’s a fresh start and we’ve kind of adapted really well to it I think so far,” senior lineman Ethan Husmann said.
Traditionally, Aurora’s offense has been, “We’ve been a flex bone team the last five years to my knowledge,” Pitts said.
Now, under Brandon Pitts, that has changed.
“We are not a flex bone team. As a DC {defensive coordinator} it’s tough for me to defend but it’s also something I don’t know enough about,” said the new coach.
Pitts hopes his new style of play will add to the Houn’ Dawgs’ storied past.
“I wanted to be at Aurora, I knew the tradition. They’re a Hall of Fame program in 2019 and they’ve won some state titles and I wanted a part of that,” Pitts said.
The first-time head coach is now a part of that after spending three seasons as defensive coordinator at West Plains, and his first test is getting his players up to speed.
“It looks like we base out of empty and so we’re trying to lighten the box and then we motion guys around,” added Pitts.
One way to practice the new approach is 7-on-7.
“We’re at 7-on-7 and we’re trying to get kids to run routes that haven’t ran routes before, but they’ve had a really positive attitude about it. They’re very competitive and they’re pretty physical and I like that,” Pitts said.
With that sort of attitude, the Houn’ Dawgs confusion could turn into success this fall.
