Some would say Apalachee High School football coach Shane Davis has it pretty good.
Davis and his Wildcats were undefeated going into last Friday’s road game against Madison County. Entering the contest at 8-0, the Wildcats were looking to build some momentum after two close one-point victories.
Davis and the AHS team got what they wanted with a 31-14 victory against the Red Raiders. The Wildcats now stand at 9-0 overall and inched up to No. 7 in the most recent Georgia High School Daily AAAA Top 10 poll.
“I was proud of the win,” Davis said. “The last couple of games we played well enough to win, but not as well as we could. I know it may seem strange to say because we were still undefeated. However, we wanted to play better and get some things on track. I thought we came out and played awful well. We played with intensity and passion. That is what we needed to do.”
Apalachee’s Jon Lee had another standout performance. Against Madison County, Lee totaled 153 yards on 19 carries.
It would be Lee and the Wildcats, however, who would have to rebound from an early deficit Friday. After forcing Madison County into a punting situation, the Red Raiders showed they were letting it all go on this night by calling for a fake punt. A 54-yard touchdown ensued as Madison County took a 7-0 with less than 1:30 into the contest.
However, AHS showed why it had already clinched the Region 8-AAAA title with two games to spare. The Wildcats would score the game’s next 31 points to seal the deal and improve to 9-0.
John Ansley added the AHS ground attack with 71 yards on nine attempts. Christian Hoard pounded out 59 tough yards on 11 carries while Reggie Battle finished with 43 yards on 10 attempts.
Davis said his team had a “good, but not great” week of practice leading up to the contest.
“Our kids don’t get too high emotionally during practice,” the coach said. “We came back last Monday with a workmanlike attitude. We are always ready to go every week.”
There had been so much talk abou the team going undefeated, Davis said, that it was time to refocus.
“There was talk of it going all the way back to the Loganville game,” Davis said. “That was way too early to be thinking about that.”
The AHS defense recorded a safety against Madison County. At the time, the safety made the score 7-2. Once the Wildcats took the lead on a 54-yard pass from Mike Norman to Ansley, AHS would not trail again.
AHS will look to close out the regular season undefeated when it hosts Salem for Senior Night this Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Seminoles are fighting for a playoff spot and Davis expects a battle for his team.
