There may be a size difference in terms of classifications between Apalachee High School and Greater Atlanta Christian, but Wildcat coach Shane Davis is certainly not taking any opponent lightly.
The GAC Spartans will roll into town Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff with a 2-0 record after a 31-8 victory against Savannah last week. GAC also defeated Stone Mountain, a Class AAAAA program, 34-26 on Aug. 24. The Spartans are ranked No. 6 in Class AA.
“They are simply a good football team,” Davis said. “They have a history of great teams. They are awfully well coached and play very physical football. We expect a tough test on Friday.”
AHS (1-0) also enters this week’s contest with some momentum after defeating Lanier High School on the road 21-11. Davis had high praise for several areas of his team’s play, especially on the offensive line.
“We will be somewhat banged up going into it,” Davis said. “We have the potential to have two starters out. We are already thin so we are hoping everyone will be able to go.”
After last year’s season opener slipped away from AHS, Davis was pleased to be on the winning side in 2012.
“You just have to take your hat off to a lot of our kids,” Davis said. “I was also proud of our coaching staff because we had to do a lot of shuffling players in and out to make sure we had the right personnel on the field at the right times. It can get hectic on the sidelines when you are substituting so frequently. However, our players knew where they were supposed to be and our coaches did a good job of getting everyone in and out of the game at the right times.”
At times last week, the Wildcats were using their third and fourth choices for players at certain spots.
“We don’t even go four-deep on the depth chart,” Davis said. “We were moving people around to see what could help us the most where. That’s why I was so pleased everything went so smoothly. Our players competed extremely hard. Our backups played a huge role in the game.”
The AHS coach said he wasn’t sure how much the win would play into the season long-term when it comes to confidence.
“We played some really close games throughout the season a year ago,” Davis said. “It just seems we couldn’t find a way to get the win in several of them. It was difficult in many ways this past Friday with some players having to come out. Our kids show a lot of character and heart. When you watch the film, you can see how tired they were.”
GAC was paced by Kyle Scales who rushed for 73 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns against Savannah. Rafe Chapple was 8-of-14 through the air for 120 yards and no interceptions.
Peter Whiteneck was Chapple’s primary target as he caught five passes for 97 yards.
“GAC is a very physical team,” AHS defensive coordinator Matt Sorrells said. “They are based out of the I and their linemen and fullbacks do a great job blocking. They also have the ability to spread you out and throw it around. We know it will be a good test.”
Said AHS offensive coordinator Joel Miller: "GAC is a lot like us. They play a lot of kids both ways so fatigue could be an issue. GAC will base out of the 3-4 defense. They are very well coached and they play fast and physical. To win ,we have to number one take care of the ball. We cant turn the football over and beat GAC. We then just have to get better at what we do. We have to be physical and tough and control the ball. I hope to see improvements in areas that we struggled in last wek. We hope for a big and loud crowd to cheer on these kids because the deserve it."
