It’s no secret that the Apalachee High School football team has a strong squad this season.
Going into last week’s Battle of Barrow contest, the Wildcats were undefeated and already ranked in the Top 10 for AAAA schools. However, by the time the night was over, coach Shane Davis’ team had shown it just may have something special. A 56-0 dismantling of county and region rival Winder-Barrow was surprising not for the fact AHS won, but in how dominating fashion it did so.
Granted, WBHS is in the process of building its program. It’s not something that happens overnight, but the Bulldoggs had shown clear signs of progress this fall. WBHS had been in every game going into the AHS contest and there had even been some whispers that perhaps, just perhaps, an upset might not be out of the question.
Well, from the first series of the game, the host Wildcats put to rest any notion that an upset was going to take place. The AHS defense forced a three-and-out and the offense then marched methodically down the field for what would be one of several touchdowns this night.
By the time the game was over, the Wildcats had not only shown they were the class of Barrow County, but they very well may be the class of Region 8-AAAA. It is going to take a special team to defeat AHS during the regular season. Granted, upsets do take place. Teams have off nights and injuries can also become a factor.
However, the Wildcats have such depth offensively and have shown they have such defensive strength, it is going to take a perfect storm of factors for a regular season opponent to knock them off.
Other preseason contenders have already fallen to the side, but AHS continues to roll and the team played its best game of the season last Friday against Winder-Barrow in the dominating home victory.
One factor working in Apalachee’s favor is its head coach.
Davis is as grounded as any high school mentor you will find. He doesn’t place any greater significance on any one opponent, whether it be a cross county rival or anyone else.
That approach has helped the Wildcats remain focused from week to week. There have been some close games this season, but when all is said and done, AHS is standing on top.
Next up for the Wildcats will be a long road trip to Habersham Central. Davis and his coaching staff are also contending this week with the fact the students are on fall break, which disrupts the normal routine of the team’s student-athletes.
Look for Davis and his assistants to find all the necessary answers, however, for another region contest. They have shown this year, and in seasons before, they have the right ingredients for the recipe for success on the football field.
They have shown they more than have what it takes to handle any task.
Yes, AHS is for real. Currently at No. 9 in the Class AAAA rankings, the Wildcats will likely show, before all is said and done, they are among the elite in the state. Last Friday was an example of that.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. Send comments about this column to cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
