Wildcats face tough Gladiators

The Gladiators have lost only once this year and are hoping to still have a say in who the region champion for 2011 is.

“We are taking them one at a time,” Davis said. “We will keep doing what we are doing and hope to keep getting better. I think we have continued to improve each week.”

Being able to control the clock with sustained drives will be key for the Wildcats this Friday.

“Clarke Central is very big up front on both sides of the football,” Davis said. “You know what you are going to get from them. Up front they are huge and their secondary is very athletic. It is tough to get a big play against them. We will have to be able to put together some long drives. Their defensive line makes that tough, however.”

Defensively, the key for AHS will be to try and slow down Clarke Central running back Quenshaun Watson, who rushed for a school record 23 touchdowns a season ago.

“Clarke is a typical Clarke team,” said AHS offensive coordinator Joel Miller. “They are very well coached, big, fast and physical. Defensively, they base out of the 3-4, but it will look like a 4-3 at times. They will change up their fronts a lot, so we must do a good job of preparing our kids for all the different looks they could see on Friday.”

Miller agrees that having big plays against the Gladiator defense will be tough.

“They tackle very well and are fast enough to recover if they ever have a blown assignment or the rare missed tackle,” Miller said. “We must be disciplined and focused every play, so that we can sustain drives and keep their explosive offense off the field. We will not be able to sustain drives if we continue making the same mistakes that we have been making such as busted plays, blown assignments and penalties. Hopefully we can correct those things in practice this week.”

Wildcat defensive coordinator Matt Sorrells has been busy trying to find a way to slow down the Clarke Central offense.

“Clarke has a very good offense that is led by a big, physical offensive line and the best running back in the region,” Sorrells said. “They are a very efficient offense. In one game they ran less than 30 offensive plays but scored in the 40s. We have to try to limit the big play and force them to put together time consuming drives so to minimize their total offensive possessions.”

While AHS has won its last two games and climbed back in the playoff chase, the coaches know the focus has to be solely on Clarke Central, who rolls into R. Harold Harrison Stadium Friday.

“We’ve had our chances,” Davis said. “We are 2-4, but if you look back we had a chance to win the other games except one. Outside of the Flowery Branch game, our three losses are by 15 combined points. The playoff race will go down to the wire. We have now put ourselves in a position to have a chance but have to keep winning. Our kids have to continue to fight. It has been tough but our kids have continued to fight. Right now we have to worry about Clarke Central. We know we’ve dug ourselves a hole and it will be tough to climb out. You can’t just jump out, it has to be one step at a time.”