Bulldogs hold final practice; walk-through Thurs.

Louisiana Tech shook off a loss to Navy in Tuesday night’s Family Feud bowl-event contest at Billy Bob’s with a solid practice, its last one of the season, Wednesday in nippy and overcast but dry conditions at nearby Centennial High in Burleson.
The Bulldogs can’t dwell on the past; the real feud with Navy is in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Friday at 3:30 in Amon G. Carter Stadium on the TCU campus.
“Our last work day, in shorts, was good; gave us a chance to sharpen some things,” Bulldogs head coach Skip Holtz said in a news release. “The main thing we’ve emphasized about this game with Navy is we have to be efficient. It’s not about clock management. It’s more about hitting a high completion percentage, not losing yards, scoring when we have the chance.
“UTEP is a team we’ve played that’s a lot like Navy’s style as far as being a run-oriented team,” Holtz added. “We had the ball four times the first half and four in the second and won the game, 28-7. The idea isn’t to try to score 55. The idea is to be efficient.”
Louisiana Tech quarterback Ryan Higgins said in a release, “Whenever we have the ball, we have to score. Keep the chains moving.”
Louisiana Tech receiver Conner Smith said, “They run an awesome offense. We can’t have dropped balls. We can’t have mistakes. We have to execute.”
Like Higgins, Smith will be playing his final game as a Bulldog.
“I’m trying to really take the whole trip in, to live out every moment,” Smith said. “I can’t wait until game time.”
Higgins said, “This is a great opportunity for our program and for our seniors to go out on a high note. It’s been a long, crazy ride, so I’m sort of having a flood of emotions.”
Speaking of crazy, practice Wednesday concluded with the third annual Coaches Game, won by the defensive coaches, who now have a 2-1 advantage in the series.
With shouting players crowding the sidelines, the game was decided by the suddenly magical combination of the elusive Blake Baker to the uncoverable Mike Schrang. The two teamed for the game-winning bomb before anyone blew out a knee or wrenched a back.
“Now that was fun,” said Higgins. “It’s a blast to look at how stiff or how slow or how bad some of our coaches are.”
Also fun was the team picking up its bowl-game swag in the early afternoon: beanie, jar of salsa, tacky Christmas sweater, commemorative football and a choice between things like speakers or watches or iPads or even small TV sets. They’ve scored a couple of really nice-looking wind suits and shoes, too.
Another both-teams event was scheduled for Wednesday evening at a local comedy club.
Thursday is the bowl banquet and then a walk-through and team picture at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Friday’s game also will mark the final one as a Bulldog for former Central Catholic standout Lloyd Grogan.
Grogan, who played in all 13 games this season, starting nine, is tied for fourth on the team in tackles with 68. The linebacker has 42 solo stops and 26 assists. He has 1.5 tackles for a loss of 4 yards, five pass breakups and five passes defensed.
Additional reporting by The Daily Review Sports Editor Geoff Stoute