Shane Davis probably felt like a weight had been removed from his shoulders as the final moments of Friday’s 45-9 win against Madison County went by.
The Wildcats, who had been close to victory more than once this fall, finally were able to seal the deal and put one in the victory column.
“It felt good,” Davis said. “We have continued to work hard and it was nice to have the outcome go in our favor.”
AHS will now look to make it two wins in a row when it travels to Rockdale County this week. While the Bulldogs have had some contests not go in their favor, Davis said his team is not in position to take anyone for granted.
“They are a very athletic team,” the Wildcat coach said. “They have been since they came in the region. They have the potential to get their backs loose. They are also very athletic on defense. We will have to play smart.”
Rockdale County, similar to AHS, runs a Wing-T offense. Defensively, the Bulldogs will likely be in a 3-5 look.
With five games remaining, Davis said it remains important to simply focus on the next game and not look forward or backwards.
“We try to take the same approach,” the coach said. “We try to separate each game. We see each week as a new challenge. We’ve always done a good job of going back to work on Monday, regardless of what happens the previous Friday.”
Davis said he even caught himself thinking back to some earlier games from this season and wondering “what if?”
“We have to guard against the past,” Davis said. “There is nothing we can do about it now. I caught myself thinking this weekend about what if we had won this one or won a couple of them. We have to focus on what’s ahead.”
Defensive coordinator Matt Sorrells is preparing his Wildcats for Rockdale County this week.
“They have very good athletes who can hit a big play at any time,” Sorrelsl said. “ They have played much better than their record shows, but have been hurt by turnovers at times. Again, we need to continue to make sure we are being disciplined, with everyone doing their job on every play. We also need to continue to improve on our tackling.”
AHS offensive coordinator Joel Miller said it was nice to get in the win column last Friday but he knows there is still work to be done.
“The win is great, but offensively we still have to continue to improve,” Miller said Monday. “ We are still making too many mistakes assignment-wise with people going to the wrong opposing players.
“We had some new people on the offensive line Friday night and I was pleased with their effort. Our running backs are doing a good job of running the football, but we need them to be more physical in their blocking. Rockdale is a 3-5 team that will run some 4-4. They have good size but nothing overwhelming like in years past. They do however have tremendous speed that can be overwhelming to an offense. They run to the ball and are very physical at the point of attack. We will have to match them physically to be successful.”
Stanley Williams had a breakthrough game Friday with three touchdowns, including one on a punt return.
“It was one of those games where we got our backs loose and to the next level,” Davis said. “We made some changes up front on the offensive line, With it being the first time for some guys at certain positions, we were pleased with how they did. I also thought our defense played well for the third week in a row.”
