Battle falls to Capital City, but a new mentality is evident in Matt Herman's second year

Battle took its only lead of the game with under five minutes to play in the first stanza as Chris Brown scooped up a Capital City fumble and scored from 72 yards out to make it a 12-7 ballgame.

The mentality for Battle (0-2) throughout its 42-18 loss to Capital City (2-0) didn’t resemble the team’s of years past, especially when things went sour at the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second.

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“The fumble recovery, it’s not the first time I’ve been there, so its instinct to pick the ball up and immediately get six,” Brown said. “I got to help the team out and give us some momentum.”

However, the Cavaliers, who defeated the Spartans twice in 2023, wouldn't allow the momentum to continue for long.

With the quarter winding down, Jarques Richardson from Capital City broke through the Spartans' defense for a 56-yard touchdown.

“We were supposed to bump on our alignments and they ran a scheme that they have not shown in a year-plus since I’ve been coaching against Joe (Collier),” Battle head coach Matt Herman said. “With the linebackers not bumping, plus the scheme, we didn’t have anybody in the gap to fill it, so that’s a big play.”

Less than three minutes later, the Cavaliers came back out in their two-running back set where star running back Jaylen Thomas, similarly to Richardson, scored right up the middle for 51 of his 120-plus yards on the night.

“The other one, we just lost containment of our assignment, and when you play those guys every week, it’s got to be assignment football,” Herman said. “It’s just assignment football. That’s what Joe (Collier) does well.”

What was once a five-point lead for Battle turned into a nine-point deficit in a matter of minutes. When both teams went into the locker room, the Spartans trailed 28-12 as Thomas managed to weave his way down the sideline on a screen pass for a 47-yard score midway through the second quarter.

It is challenging to attempt to come back against a team that enjoys running the ball, like Capital City. While the Spartans ended up losing by 24 points to the Cavaliers and a 20-point loss a week before at North Kansas City, Herman, who is just in his second season as head coach, has noticed a positive shift in attitude and tone.

“Our guys didn’t quit,” Herman said. “At this point last year any point in time when things got out of hand, they didn’t go our way, our guys probably quit and they responded tonight. That's the biggest thing amongst everything else is we stuck together.”

Playing hard in the second half, Battle’s defense stiffened and in the run game, the chunk runs Capital City sustained slowly disappeared against a defensive line that featured players such as seniors Gabe Truss and Nathan Misslin.

“I think you look at that game and I think our defense stepped up,” Herman said. “We made some plays, we had a little adjustment at halftime. We missed two guys in the first half due to some things that went on. So they came back after sitting out and definitely made a difference.”

Also, an uptick in leadership and sticking together is something that Herman is proud of his team for demonstrating on Friday. Brown, a senior linebacker and running back, is one of the team's key leaders, who has taken a step forward in that role.

“Chris Brown is what we call a dude with all capital letters. He’s a great kid. He plays both ways, and doesn't ask for plays off. He’s a great leader,” Herma said. “When I first got here last year he wasn’t as vocal. He has stepped up in that tremendously. He has changed, he’s worked on body language, he’s working his butt off in the weight room and he’s just phenomenal.”

Brown rushed for over 50 yards on Friday night with a hard running style. Kendle Wilkerson connected with Jace Cooper for Battle’s first score in the first quarter, but it was Brown provided the rest of the points with his second-quarter defensive touchdown and a one-yard score in the third quarter to make it 35-18.

“It feels a little different,” Brown said. “Last year, we lost a lot of leaders that we called special. But, you know, we moved on, and we got new guys, and it's time to take that leader spot and that’s what I’m doing right now.”

Along with the Spartans leadership and refusal to quit when adversity strikes, accountability is something else that Herman is impressed with his team accomplishing in the young season.

“These guys know their jobs, and this group has learned and understood the accountability piece,” Herman said. “But even in general, there’s guys holding each other accountable to a tee. We had guys come us to last week and say, coach I did not play well. They’re trying to do a lot better than that and it's been great for our guys.”

A culture and a certain mentality is being built up at Battle. While the Spartans are still winless, they will have plenty of opportunities to surpass its win total of the previous two seasons of three wins.

Battle will play its second CMAC game at Helias (2-0) next Friday at 7 p.m. The Crusaders defeated Hickman 90-28 in their most previous matchup. Battle hasn’t defeated Helias since 2016 where it won 64-29 in Jefferson City.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Battle falls to Capital City, but a fresh mentality is becoming evident