‘101 Dalmatians’ may be a fun flick, but watching game film after allowing 101 points in your first two games is not. Normally that would spell a winless start but Zack Threadgill’s young Apollo squad managed one victory.

“We’re just trying to develop kids every day in practice, and I know that’s cliché but just trying to get the best out of them every day,” the 13th year coach said. “And defensively we lost a lot too (from last year). I think we only had four starters back on defense, not even. I think there may be only three or two.”

Not only is the Apollo defense filled with youth, but it also faced two elite quarterbacks headed to the University of Southern California and Washington State, respectively. “To play two of those quarterbacks in the same year, let alone back to back, is a challenge, so we gotta focus on us. We can’t worry about what the other team’s doing,” Threadgill said.

Apollo Athletic Director Ben White is confident in Threadgill’s method. “He takes them from not knowing much about football… com(ing) in from a middle school with no programs, to a pretty competitive group by the time they’re a senior.”

“That pretty competitive group” has shown an ability to score. Defensive woes are less of an issue if the offense puts more points on the board than the opponents. On the way to outscoring Desert Mountain (0-3) 48-41, Threadgill leaned on star senior Ali Mohamed.

“He’s our running back, he’s a really good player, and he’s a great kid, and he’s got a 3.8 GPA, and he’s got a great work ethic, and he’s one of our strongest kids,” Threadgill raved.

In that game, Mohamed carried the ball 34 times and came away with 256 rushing yards to accompany his five total touchdowns.

Keeping the clock and chains moving, featuring a dominant running back may be Apollo’s best defense. When the other team does get the ball, however, Threadgill knows there is work to be done.

“We gotta play good football, and so working on the fundamentals this week has been a big emphasis. Just working on tackling, working on coverage skills, working on assignment and alignment and really just taking it back to the basics, and working on those fundamentals of football,” said Threadgill.

After a week of practices emphasizing the fundamentals, the team showed defensive improvement from the first two games on Friday. In a one touchdown loss to Maricopa, the squad gave up 27 points, its lowest allowed output of the year by 14.

As the season unfolds, the inexperienced Apollo defense will need to continue its growth, or the weight on Mohamed’s shoulders may become too heavy to handle.

They return to action Friday at Notre Dame Prep (3-0), with a chance to prove that age really is just a number.