Assistant Coach Justin O’Toole:
SORSN: Tell us about your coaching role for this team?
Justin: I coach and scheme the special teams, coach WR’s and DB’s
SORSN: Everyone we ask about nicknames says you call them this or that. Have you given everyone on the team a nickname or what?
Justin: There are a lot of nicknames on the team. I don’t even know some people’s names I just know them by their nickname. I called Josh Humphreys “Chuck” for weeks because he reminded me of a former player so much. Gary “Bo” Teffteller is another good one. The best is in the spring when I needed receivers. When I would call for “Butt Head” and “Crack Baby”, I would yell out “Come on Butt Crack!”
SORSN: What is the biggest difference for you between playing for MHS and coaching for MHS?
Justin: It’s hard to explain. Being a player is great and I love coaching. I never realized how hard coaching is. But the common thread is that it is for Midway and I love Midway (and pie).
SORSN: When you played for the Greenwave you were a TE and DE, do you help with these positions in practice?
Justin: Not so much this year, Coach Campbell has those positions this year. The past 2 years we really didn’t have a TE or DE coach but when coach Moser thought they needed some “extra attention” he would send me over to them and we would work to solve anything that needed to be worked on.
SORSN: Each season, it seems there’s a different O’Toole playing. How many are there?!
Justin: 4 – Me, Aaron, Jude, and Zack
Zack’s not playing this year and will be a senior next year if he’s going to still be in the family he better play!!!
SORSN: After the Game with Greenback you said “WE’RE GOING TO HOOTERS!” Did you really go?
Justin: No I was so excited I stayed at the field house and watched the game film over and over then went to Pre-Moe’s, “the place people go before Moe’s”
SORSN: Do you know a waitress and if so do you think you can get one of them to wear a SORSN.com T-shirt when we make them?
Justin: That will be my second question after I ask them for some pie. I like pie.
Assistant Coach Chris Shillings:
SORSN: We have seen several different “looks” to this years defense. What is your base defense and what do you call these variations that we keep seeing?
Chris: We run a 50 defense. The defensive calls are all from the animal kingdom. The offensive calls are from the fruit family. We try and make them easy to remember.
SORSN: It seems as if one group or the other (DBs, DL, Linebackers) always seems to step up and give your Defense the play that it needs. Is it comforting to know that everyone on your D is capable of making the play?
Chris: Everyone on the defense can make a play; we are just trying to put them in the right spot to make those plays. We want to hit people in the mouth and see how they like it.
SORSN: Do you feel that your defense has been, to use another old football saying, “running on all cylinders”?
Chris: We are playing good defense but we haven’t clicked on all cylinders yet. We can improve.
SORSN: Have you ever seen/heard of the feared Burma Road?
Chris: Yes I saw Burma road my first year with Coach Branson. Coach Moser goes old school and he gets his point across in a different way.
SORSN: To bring back an older question, Why HAVEN’T you invited the other coaches over to your pool? Scared of what the neighbors will say? (To those who don’t know, Shillings lives North of the River)
Chris: As for the pool, I am afraid of what the neighbors might think. We can get really rowdy talking football and eating pie. I leave north of the river, but I bleed GREEN SOUTH OF THE RIVER TRASH. The DOB’s ride again!!
SORSN: I actually spoke to several of Coach Shillings neighbors and they said they were Okay with the coaching staff partying at pool side, however, they required O’Toole to wear more than his usual black Speedo.
Head Coach Craig Moser:
SORSN: Greenback has been a huge rival game for Midway for as long as most people can remember. How big was the win last Friday for you, your coaching staff, the players and the school in general?
Craig: It was huge. Having not beaten them the last two years it was important to keep the annual game on even scales. Any time a Midway team beats Greenback, all of the ex players are extremely happy. Shutting them out was even more of a thrill.
SORSN: It’s now 7 weeks into the season. Is your team where it needs to be? (mentally, physically, etc.)
Craig: We are coming closer both mentally and physically. Our practices have been sharp and we understand what we are supposed to do. I still think we can be better in a lot of phases of the game and we are slowly improving on these things. The injuries had set us back a few weeks, but we are coming together. Our mind is on the grass.
SORSN: There is an old saying that a football team improves the most between the first and second game. Given your teams record do you think it applies to this years team?
Craig: That statement has a lot of truth. However, we were beat up for a while and I think our best play is yet to come.
SORSN: What can you tell us about the Oneida team?
Craig: Oneida is an experienced, well coached, team. They are solid in every aspect of the game. Offensively they run multiple formations and are big up front. They get after you. They run the ball well but are balanced in the passing game. On defense they run a version to the split 4 (which looks like a 6-2) with a lot of man coverage. Their punters and kickers are good. You are not going to fool or trick Oneida, to beat them you have to execute and out hit them.
SORSN: Is there a bus ride worse than the one to Oneida?
Craig: A lot of people make a big issue out of bus rides. I, for one, believe you play football on Friday night at 7:30, arriving on a bus, car, bicycle, mule, we don’t care. Bus rides are fun if you win and bad when you lose.
SOR – FDY