Both the Ponte Vedra Sharks’ and the Nease Panthers’ football teams have a bye this week, and it comes at an ideal time.
Although the Panthers would rather like to play a game as soon as possible to help get the bad taste out of their mouths following a crushing 14-13 loss to Fletcher last week, having a week off to think about it is not the worst thing.
No game this week will allow the Panthers’ players and coaching staff some time to re-evaluate themselves instead of preparing for the next opponent.
Bye weeks can serve as a reset button, not only to get healthier and have time to recover from a grueling season, but also figure out what has and has not been working from a scheme standpoint.
In the case of Nease, it is all about rediscovering the magic and rhythm offensively that they had until a couple of weeks ago.
When things were clicking for the offense, the entire team spewed confidence and it was the perfect combination to go with its ball-hawking defense.
The Panthers have shown the ability to have what it takes to do some damage in the playoffs, but first they must rediscover who they are, and it starts with this bye week.
For the Sharks, it has been a season of high and lows and they are currently in the midst of some adversity with a three-game losing streak.
However, the Sharks have proven they can compete with anyone, only losing by two to a highly regarded Bartram Trail squad just two weeks ago.
Consistency is still something that the Sharks are trying to figure out and maintain throughout an entire game in order.
Nathan Bunkosky has done an admirable job since taking over as the Sharks’ signal caller and he has some dangerous receivers and running backs surrounding him, so the potential exists offensively.
However, now it is about tapping into that potential and realizing it during the bye week.
Ponte Vedra has tough tests to end the season at home against Fletcher and on the road against Creekside.
However, one of the best ways to get better is to play against tough competition and that is exactly the opportunity the Sharks have in front of them in the coming weeks.
