- November 25, 2024
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After 12 years as an assistant coach, Matanzas gave Robert Ripley his first shot at the head coach position. With season one in the bag, Ripley and I reviewed some of the ups and downs over the past several months.
Me: How would you rate your overall first year as coach?
Ripley: If we would’ve won tonight, I probably would’ve given myself a B, but I think I have to say a C, maybe even a D, after the way we played against Atlantic. We’ve gotten better, though our record doesn’t say it, but we are statistically. We gave up too many big plays all season. Rarely did teams drive the ball down the field on us.
Me: What was the best lesson you learned this year?
Ripley: Pull the trigger. When there’s an opportunity to discipline, to learn, or to be better scout, you have to pull the trigger on it. When you’re the head coach, you’re the decision maker. You take those things for granted, as an assistant.
Me: What was the biggest mistake you think you made this season?
Ripley: I should’ve called “bootleg” against Nease. I should’ve gotten our quarterback out on the edge and given him the option to run or throw. Out of all the plays we ran all year, that’s the only one that I regret. (Matanzas lost to Nease 40-39, after the Pirates failed to convert a 2-point conversion in overtime.)
Me: Do you see yourself coaching for a long time?
Ripley: Absolutely. It’s exciting. It’s the only life I think I could ever have. You get a chance to impact a lot of lives and be around a bunch of people, and hopefully, you get to reach a few and really change their lives. On top of that, you get to compete, and being an athlete my whole life, I wouldn’t know what else to do, if I wasn’t doing this.
Me: I often see tweets on Twitter from students who believe that you have the Pirates heading in the right direction. How does that make you feel?
Ripley: I received a letter that a kid wrote in class that read along that same line. What the kids are writing right now are the things that I want for our program. I want people to believe in Matanzas football. I looked up and there were a bunch of people in the stands at the last game. I want people to believe in our kids. I want our kids to be great in the community and classroom, and we’re going to be great on the grass. We were a couple of points shy of doing something special this year.
Me: Do you believe that you can eventually turn Matanzas into a state title contender?
Ripley: I want to win district games first. We haven’t won a district game in three years, and now I’m 0-4 in my career, so we have to find a way to win district games, and that is the number one priority. We have to find a way to beat Bartram Trail and St. Augustine. Creekside got lucky this year.
Me: How much of a difference was your relationship with players as an assistant compared to your relationship with them now as a coach?
Ripley: I was very fortunate to work with Steve Allen at our two stops together. I got some on-the-job training with him. Allen gave me a lot of responsibility at Warner Christian. You want the kids to call you, to text you about their problems and their accomplishments. The only thing that changes is that the head coach is the final; he’s the one who pulls the trigger. When they screw up, you have to be the disciplinarian. As an assistant, you can sit back and say, “I wouldn’t do that.”
BOX: Daniel Dillard becomes first Pirate to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season
Although the Pirates had a disappointing season, but promising future, one of the great takeaways from this year was Daniel Dillard, Matanzas’ first 1,000-yard rusher.
Dillard finished the season with 1,189 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns, after his 141-yard, two touchdown performance in the Pirates season finale.
“I couldn’t have done it without the offensive line and receivers blocking downfield for me,” Dillard said. “It’s great to accomplish something like this with all the teammates that I’ve been friends with for a long time.”
“We were committed to running the ball, so it’s a great accomplishment for Dillard,” coach Robert Ripley said.” Playing a freshman and three sophomores up front makes it even better.”
Dillard is only a junior, so he and the Pirates will look to build off the running game next year in Robert’s second season as the head coach.
