Sep. 15—Editor's Note: Following is a question and answer session with East Central University interim head coach John Litrenta leading up to the Tigers' trip to Southwestern Saturday evening to take on the Bulldogs. ECU is coming off a gut-wrenching 24-17 overtime loss to Southern Arkansas.

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The Ada News: Coach, that had to be an agonizing loss to Southern Arkansas. Give me your thoughts about the game.

John Litrenta: "We didn't finish the game like we are capable of. We must sustain drives consistently and be able to get stops consistently. We have struggled to score points in the second half of each game. We need to find a way to get us jump-started and manufacture our own explosive plays. Defensively, we played a lot of snaps but we did it to ourselves at times by not getting off the field when we had opportunities. Those plays add up."

The Ada News: What was your message to your team following the loss?

John Litrenta: "My message to the team was that we must flatten the curve. We don't have time to continue to make the same mistakes. We must learn and grow. These young men are fighters and I love the traits of this team. There might be some pain first as we grow before we hit better times. We have to stay true to our process and have faith that if we stick to it, the final result will change in favor of ECU."

The Ada News: There was definitely improvement from Week 1. What aspects of the game did you see the most improvement in?

John Litrenta: "We eliminated penalties and improved on field position. Special teams improved as well. We made it a huge deal during the week."