Numbers have a tendency to hide the full story sometimes.

More specifically, a winless record through eight games compared to a previous 2-8 record is an illustration painted darker than its meaning. The numbers will tell you 20 percent is in actuality better than zero percent. That we can all agree with, but can we also agree that first-year head coach Jeff Hancock’s coaching record doesn’t tell the entire story?

You can’t fold a bad hand in high school football. In accepting the Vidalia job, Hancock inherited a team that won five games in four years. In other words, he became the coach of a team that had grown accustomed to losing. Not only that, but of his 12 seniors, only three of them had previous football experience. This is a reflection of the entire team, as 30 players can’t transform into 50 in a year’s time without picking up a lot of inexperienced players along the way. Therefore, an inexperienced bunch cannot be expected to go out and execute like a veteran club.

While viewing Hancock’s situation, I can’t help but think back to a conversation I had with Alcorn State head coach Jay Hopson over the summer. I was chatting with Hopson at one of his practices, and he couldn’t help but laugh when he thought about his first season with the Braves. His record was 4-7 in 2012, but he played basically nothing but freshmen and sophomores, so naturally, growing pains occurred.

“That’s pretty much all I had,” Hopson told me. “I remember we were at a banquet that year, and I asked the upperclassmen to raise their hands, and I’m telling you — it wasn’t many of them.”

Playing a group of underclassmen paid off quickly for Hopson, as his team made a quick turnaround, and he now has one of the top teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

So will Hancock’s bunch have a similar story three years from now? Well, it could.

If you’re looking strictly at the statistics, your jaw might drop in horror. Through seven games, the Vikings haven’t scored but a total of 38 points. That is an average of 5.4 points per game. Even worse, Vidalia has been outscored 254-38 in those first seven games. Again, numbers can be misleading.

When Natchez Democrat sports writer Matt Sigler came back from a 42-8 loss to Jena two weeks ago, his first words to me were, “That wasn’t a 42-8 game. Vidalia is getting better.”

If you watch this team perform, you’ll see kids firing off the ball. In the words of Hancock, effort has never been the question. Hancock made a mistake in the early goings by installing a double-wing offense because he thought it would be easiest for the players to absorb. Turned out it wasn’t, as the team failed to move the ball much in the first three games of the season. So what did he do? Well, instead of being stubborn, he made a switch to some zone-read, run-based offenses, installing some passing plays in the process.

With that offense, the Vikings are now moving the ball, though they haven’t been successful in the red zone.

Springing from this offense is a couple of young talents. One that’s been catching fire here lately is Antione Taylor, who had a 70-plus yard rushing performance followed by an 80-yard performance two weeks ago. Another is Julian Wilson, who recorded 90 yards in a loss to Bolton three weeks ago. Taylor is a sophomore, and Wilson is a freshman.

The Vikings are mostly an underclassmen squad that is learning how to prepare, learning how to shake off errors and learning how to compete. On a bright note, they’re learning from two quality coaches in Hancock and Viking legend Dee Faircloth.

Success comes with a price. The Vikings are paying that price now, but sooner than later, they’ll have a winning club again.

As Alabama head coach Nick Saban always says, “it’s a process.” You have to lay the foundation before you rebuild an empire.

 

JAKE MARTIN is the sports editor for The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3633 or jake.martin@natchezdemocrat.com.