Hickman struggles in opener

Free safety Nick Timberlake was a bright spot for the Hickman football team in a 39-0 loss to the East St. Louis Flyers on Friday night at home, even if that bright spot meant a poor overall defensive performance for the Kewpies.

“It is not a good sign when your free safety is making a lot of tackles,” Timberlake said of his eight-tackle performance.

Most of his tackles came after Flyers running backs broke through the Hickman front seven and were one player away from dashing into the end zone. That player was Timberlake.

“They are a team with great schemes and great tailbacks,” Hickman coach Jason Wright said of the Flyers’ running game.

Timberlake also played a key role in containing explosive East St. Louis receiver Jerrell McDaniels by breaking up a pass and by keeping McDaniels in front of him for most of the game.

The only mistake in coverage on the receiver came on McDaniels lone catch, which went for a 36-yard touchdown.

“The mistakes we made are things that we can get better on,” Timberlake said.

Hickman also struggled with East St. Louis’ blitz-oriented defense. The Flyers would stack the line of scrimmage with eight defensive players and leave the other three to cover Hickman’s wide receivers one-on-one.

“We didn’t expect their front,” Wright said. “It took us a few series to adjust to them. When they are bringing eight men every play it is going to be tough.”

The Flyers defensive scheme led to eight sacks of Hickman quarterback Doug Luetjen, who had his arm wrapped in ice after the game as a reminder of the punishment he had received.

“It’s a credit to East St. Louis,” Luetjen said. “They are a pretty good team with some good athletes.”

Despite the pressure he faced on a play-to-play basis, Luetjen still completed 12-of-24 passes for 129 yards.

“This is my first year as a starting varsity quarterback and first year working with these wide receivers,” Luetjen said.

The Hickman players and coaching staff know there are more games on the schedule for the Kewpies to erase East St. Louis from their memories.

“It was one game, not the season,” Wright said.

But the opening night loss has given the Kewpies a sense of urgency.

“We have nowhere to go but up from here,” Timberlake said. “We are a young team, but we need to grow up fast.”

Hickman will try to get their first win of the season when they travel to Arkansas on Friday to face Bentonville High School.