The emotional roller coaster the Winder-Barrow High School football team has been on during the past several days has been admittedly tough to take for coach David Wagner and his players.
Last Friday’s 14-13 overtime loss to Heritage on the road saw the Bulldoggs ever so close to victory, only to see it not materialize. Despite the weight of that setback, Wagner knows another tough road challenge awaits WBHS this week as it travels to Loganville.
“We’ve been going through a run of emotions that are simply a part of this game,” Wagner said. “However, we have to put our minds on Loganville now because we will be facing yet another team in the middle of the fight for the playoffs.”
The Bulldogg coach noted three of his team’s last five opponents (including Loganville this week) are in position to earn a playoff spot.
“The last thing Loganville or any of these teams can do is lose to us,” Wagner said. “That’s why it is so tough week in and week out.”
The WBHS coach said the trademark of the Loganville High School Red Devils is being well coached.
“They’ve been that way since I have been coaching against them,” Wagner said. “They like to get you out of position and then hit you with big plays.”
The Red Devils enter this week’s game at 4-2 after a 22-0 victory against Cedar Shoals last Friday. LHS has lost to Heritage (31-17) and Clarke Central (45-32) this fall.
LHS uses a Pro-I offense with split backs.
“They remind me of Stephens County back when I was at Apalachee and were in 8-AAA,” Wagner said. “They move people around a good bit. They have two or three people they want to get the football to and they do everything in their power to make that happen.”
Defensively, the Red Devils will also be a force this week.
Using a 4-3 scheme, LHS will play multiple coverages behind it and don’t take many chances, Wagner said.
The challenge for the WBHS coaching staff this week during practice will be to get the players to put last week’s disappointing loss behind them.
“Friday was a tough one,” Wagner said. “However, it’s one game in a season, regardless of how it turned out. We are all disappointed to have been so close and to have seen it get away. However, I am proud of the fact this team has not quit and continues to battle every week against teams which, on paper, should easily win the game. That says a great deal about where this program is headed.”
Kickoff Friday is set for 7:30 p.m.
