Playoff positioning and a stake in a possible region championship will be at stake this Friday when the Apalachee High School football team ventures into Death Valley to face Clarke Central, the current No. 2 team in Class AAAA.
For the Wildcats, a win is likely necessary if they want to be able to host a state playoff game again this season. AHS already has one loss while Clarke Central is undefeated. A setback this Friday would make it difficult for the Wildcats to finish higher than third. A win, however, and the possibility remains for winning region depending on the matchup in the final regular season game between Clarke Central and Flowery Branch.
With so much possibly riding on the outcome, coach Shane Davis and his coaching staff are making sure all bases are covered for this week.
“It goes without saying Clarke Central is a very good football team,” Davis said. “They have Division I-A commitments and they are solid all the way offensively. They are well coached and their kids are sound and don’t make mistakes. The whole program has all you need to be successful in athletes, size and coaching. It is going to be a challenge without a doubt.”
Davis said he believes the Gladiators are better this season offensively than a year ago when they advanced all the way to the state championship contest.
“Defensively, it’s somewhat hard to tell until you actually get out there against them,” Davis said. “It’s easier to tell offensively because they are going to run their system. They have been successful every week. We will have to play well and play fast.”
Wildcat offensive coordinator Joel Miller has the task of trying to find some success against this week’s formidable foe.
“It is a big game,” Miller said. “They are a very good team and I hope we can go on the road and compete.”
Breaking down Clarke Central defensively, Miller said the Gladiators will use 4-3 and 4-4 looks.
“They have good speed and size on defense,” Miller said. “Their linebackers and safeties are physical and aggresive. They have a very good mixture of size and speed on the defensive line. For us to have a chance to win, the offense must sustain some long drives and shorten the game. We have to help our defense by keeping their explosive offensive off the field. As usual, penalties and turnovers kill drives, so we must avoid them.”
When facing a team that is ranked so high and has the potential to go deep into the state playoffs once again, Davis said you simply stick with what you have been doing.
“My history is that if you go away from it, you take the kids out of their comfort zone,” Davis said. “You would have to have luck to do something new after doing things a certain way for so long. Of course, you can always tweak things, but that’s about it.”
“They are going to make plays,” Davis said. “They are going to get first downs. We are going to have to keep our heads up and make plays. We have to make them beat us. We can’t do anything wrong including lining up in the wrong place or missing coverages.”
The AHS players know what type of challenge awaits this Friday.
“We were able to set ourselves up for a big game by defeating Rockdale County,” said Wildcat sophomore quarterback Clint Ashe. “We’ll go back to the grind and be ready.”
