Apalachee didn’t earn a no. 7 ranking in Class AAAA based on flair and finesse.
Madison County (5-3) faces an 8-0 Wildcat football team Friday night that likes to pound the football down opponents’ gullets.
“They’re loaded,” Red Raider coach Randell Owens said. “They’ve got some great running backs.”
Apalachee, which gashed Madison County for 467 yards on the ground last year, boasts a potent trio of backs — Jon Lee, Reggie Battle and John Ansley — that’s helped it clinch the school’s first region title with two games to spare.
While Loganville’s Storm Johnson might be the most sought-after running back in the region by colleges, Apalachee’s stable of ball carriers might be more complete high school football players, Owens said.
“I’ll take them any day,” he said. “It doesn’t matter which one has the ball. They can all take it to the house.”
Compounding the problem is that Apalachee operates out of the Wing-T, a scheme that thrives on concealment of the actual ball carrier through fakes and misdirection.
“Inside, outside, misdirection or pass, there’s about four things that go off each series,” Owens said.
So what will it take to contain the Wildcats’ backs and Wing-T attack?
“Try to control the line of scrimmage and stop the explosion play,” Owens said.
Similarly, Apalachee coach Shane Davis is wary of Madison County’s offensive scheme, noting that the Red Raiders will do everything from using two tight end sets to spreading it out and throwing the ball around the field. In fact, Madison County passed for 442 yards against the Wildcats in 2008.
“It is not going to be easy this week,” Davis said. “Madison County will be as athletic offensively as anyone we’ve seen. They are able to do so many things.”
Apalachee is coming off a pair of one-point victories, edging Loganville, 42-41, Oct. 17 and Heritage, 24-23, last week. While Apalachee has already locked up the region title and no. 1 seed out of Region 8-AAAA for the state playoffs, this game has huge postseason implications for the Red Raiders, who had last week off.
There’s a chance Madison County could finish as high as second place in the region with victories over Apalachee Friday and Clarke Central next week.
There’s also a chance that the Red Raiders could sneak into the postseason if they split the last two games, but those odds aren’t good.
Basically, Madison County considers both games must-wins.
“We’ve got to win both games to go to the state playoffs,” Owens said.
Meanwhile, the region could be looking at a frantic finish over these last two weeks.
Only one team, Apalachee, has its postseason destination locked up, while five others are mathematically capable of earning a playoff spot.
“Three of those five are going to the playoffs,” Owens said. “When the dust settles, we want to be one of them.”
