The 2023 varsity 8-man football season left a nasty taste in the mouths of Orrick coach Kirk Thacker and his Bearcats. On Aug. 30, they took a step toward washing out the taste of that 3-8 campaign by drubbing visiting Southwest of Livingston County/Hale/Tina-Avalon 56-0. The season-opening victory was Orrick’s first shutout win since Week 2 of 2021 – Thacker’s first season at Orrick. Orrick’s defense was key in routing the Wildcats, according to Thacker. “We have not had a great defense the last couple years. And we wanted to fix that problem,” he said Monday on Orrick’s practice field. “And I would say that our defense was better than our offense the other night.” The defensive line played especially well, Thacker said, citing junior Trent Windsor and senior Tucker Greer as standouts. Officially, Windsor led Orrick with 15 tackles. “I think that our defense was a big part (of winning),” Windsor said. “Everyone, pretty much, did their job. And we still have our kinks that we …