Playing away from home was not a kind thing for the Apalachee High School football team in 2010.
While the Wildcats were undefeated at home, the team was 1-4 on the road. Perhaps the toughest setup was an upset loss to Cedar Shoals which would help prevent AHS from returning to the postseason. A new season arrives Friday and for the Wildcats and head coach Shane Davis, the longest regular season road trip is on tap. AHS travels to Habersham Central High School as the 2011 and Region 8-AAAA schedule begins.
“We better be ready,” Davis said. “It’s here. It’s one of those things where it seemed we just had several weeks to get ready and now we are under a week. We are to that point where the players are tired of practicing against each other and the coaches are tired of watching the players practice against each other.”
Davis said Habersham Central is “very big up front” and will be similar to 2010 in the schemes it uses.
“This is their second year running the option,” Davis said. “On film, you can tell their quarterback is a good player and athlete. We will do our best to contain him. They will also be very physical on defense.”
AHS defensive coordinator Matt Sorrells said Habersham Central runs both the veer and midline.
“They’ll run them out of several different formations, said Sorrells, who is in his first season as defensive coordinator. “Their quarterback is very dangerous, not only with his running ability, but also with his decision making. Based on what we saw in their scrimmage versus Stephens County, they appear to be throwing the ball more this year and the quarterback is very accurate and the receivers all run good routes and catch the ball well. We have to play assignment football and tackle well or it will be a long night for us.”
The Raiders use a 4-4 front defensively although they do not blitz a great deal. Still, AHS offensive coordinator Joel Miller said he has not seen a great deal from the Raiders offensively in the preseason.
“It’s hard to tell and know what to expect on Friday, “Miller said. “We have only had a chance to break down their scrimmage and the team they played only got in about two formations and only ran a couple of plays. In their scrimmage they lined up in the 4-3. Their defensive line is very big, as are their linebackers.
“They are extremely physical and they will try to play on our side of the line of scrimmage. For us to be successful we need to stop penetration by their line and linebackers and somehow get our running backs some room. We are going into a very tough place to play. They have great fan support and the place is usually packed out well before kickoff. They are very much improved over last year’s team. We must take care of the ball and execute our blocking assignments if we expect to move the ball on them.”
With 10 region games on the slate again this season, Davis said he doesn’t like to overemphasize the importance of one game. However, Davis knows it is always important to start a new season with success.
“One loss will not break you when you play 10 region games,” the AHS coach said. “There have been some three-loss teams get in the playoffs so with 10 region games this is not the end of the world regardless of what happens. Of course, you will be behind the 8-ball to some degree. After Friday, there will be five teams ahead of you if you lose. Still, you still would have time to string some wins together and be right back in it.”
Perhaps the biggest thing a win would mean for the Wildcats would be it occured on the road.
“It’s a long road trip,” Davis said. “Habersham is a tough place to play. We’ve gone through some spurts where we’ve played well on the road and times where we have struggled. I’m not sure why we struggle at times. When you play at home you lay around at your school. When you go on the road you lay around on the bus.
“If you are going to win the region then you have to play well on the road. Habersham will have a great home crowd. The first game always brings excitement. It doesn’t matter what you did the year before.”
Apalachee enters the game healthy overall.
