While fumbles and missed tackles cost Pike County on the scoreboard of Friday night’s 33-20 loss to Goshen, all was not gloomy in the eyes of interim head coach Fred Holland.

“It’s a slow process,” the coach said. “I’m really proud of how these guys worked this week.”

Hard work was needed as the Bulldogs implemented a new offensive system in just four days under Holland, who replaced Rodney Dollar after Dollar was placed on leave for medical reasons.

Pike County moved from the spread and the Wing-T to the I-formation. The Bulldogs had scored only 20 points in fours games in 2011 but matched that total on Friday night.

“They (players) accepted what we are trying to do and really went after it,” Holland said. “We’ve got some issues to address this week but we’ll keep working.”

One of the issues is ball security.

The Bulldogs fumbled the football four times, losing three.

Dominique Mills played a solid game as Pike County’s tailback rushing for 88 yards on 15 carries.

Raheem Pearson, not to be outdone, picked up 119 yards on the ground as the team’s leading rusher including a 78-yard touchdown run.

“The fumbles hurt us,” Holland said. “We had some bright spots but it’s a work in progress.”

The Bulldogs will brush up on the new playbook this week and also look to expand with a road trip to Opp looming.

“We got the basic foundation down this week,” said Holland. “We’ll look to throw some more things in and keep building.”

The defense, though allowing 33 points did not play a poor ballgame.

Goshen, along with the fumbles, hurt Pike County with big plays including a 80-yard kickoff return and a 55-yard interception return for a score.

Despite the points Holland feels his defense is looking a little more solid that the offense.

“They are a little ahead of the offense,” he said. “I thought they reacted well but just missed some tackles.”

Several time Pike County allowed long runs after what looked to be a stop for minimal yardage. Goshen’s Jerome Lawrence broke free in the second quarter after breaking two tackles at the line of scrimmage and 37 yards later gave the Eagles a 13-0 lead.

The Bulldogs showed little interest in the passing game, attempting only nine throws with just two finding their target.

Pike County will travel to Opp next week and look to avoid falling to 0-6 for the first time since 1998.