RSS Feed
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Passing game takes off, outgains rushing attack
Morgan County will definitely be the toughest sub-region opponent other than Greene County so a win would virtually assure the Tigers of a spot in the region playoff tenth game of the season. A loss could kill their chances of making the playoffs because of the inequitable system for determining the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in Region 8-AA. "If we can get through Friday we should be in good shape to the end," said Tiger Head Coach Russell Morgan. Morgan County has beaten Portal (in the first game of the season) and Union County (last week) while losing to Salem and Franklin County. The win over Union was convincing at 49-7, or maybe not, given the weakness in the north subregion. Still, the Bulldogs promise to be the highest hurdle the Tigers will have to jump before meeting Greene County in game nine. "Morgan County is 2-2," Coach Morgan reported. "Early in the year they probably weren't very good," he continued. "They came out spreading the field and slinging it 25 or 26 times a game and it just didn't work. Last week they went back to doing what Morgan has always done - running the football from the Wing-T. So I think we will play a much better team than what they were two or three weeks ago." Morgan County has as its advantage almost 1,100 kids in the high school and the football team roster has 88 players on it. By contrast, there are probably just shy of 500 students at W-WCHS and only 65 players on the roster. "They have more numbers to choose from," Morgan observed, saying, "Coach [Kenny] Moore and his staff have been there a long time and they do a good job. I don't doubt this is going to be a competitive ball game." Some Tiger fans may remember that Kenny Moore was an assistant coach at W-WCHS about 20 years ago under Butch Brooks. "They run a lot of sweeps and they do line up and run at you some," Morgan said. "Having that wingback, they always have a good misdirection." The Bulldogs' defensive front appears pretty steady. They run a 4- 4 and players to watch include Morton Williams, Cornelius Garrett, free safety Thomas Green and outside linebacker Aaron Sidwell.. On offense, they have two quarterbacks that have played a lot. One is more a passer and the other is more a runner. The halfback is pretty shifty. "They don't have many real standout players," Morgan said, "they just all do what they're supposed to do." As for the Tigers' romping over Banks County, Morgan was especially pleased with his team's passing game. "I was glad to see us come out and throw the ball with some success," he said. "Clete [Wilson] was 10-for- 13 and 271 yards. He has thrown the ball pretty good most of the year but we have dropped a lot of them. We did a good job Friday of holding on to it." Three different receivers each had three catches against Banks County: Jay Small, Khiry Tutt, and Larry Davis. "Hopefully this will let people know that we can throw the ball," Morgan continued. "I'm sure a lot of people will say it was just because it was Banks County. But still, the passes were on target so we do have the ability to throw it some. It was good for us to get to work on it a little bit." The running game was somewhat less stellar in Banks County, but only comparatively speaking. With Kelmetrius Wylie having set his own bar at 275 yards the week before, he rushed through an "off" night with "only" 123 yards. That was on just seven carries - an average of 17.5 yards every time he got the ball. He also had a 60- or 70-yard touchdown called back so his total could have easily approached 200 again. Jay Small also had a good night with 79 yards on nine carries. "The biggest thing," Morgan said, "is that the offensive line, for two weeks in a row, has just played outstanding." He also reported that the defensive front played a much better ball game than it did against Dawson.
The Morgan County game is this Friday, October 6, at Tiger Stadium beginning at 7:30 p.m.
|
for larger version       |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
