After suffering their first loss of the season last week at the hand of George Walton Academy, the Commerce Tigers (4-1) look to rebound on Friday when they host the Athens Christian Eagles (1-4).
Although the Eagles have struggled this year thus far, Commerce head coach Marvin Justice stressed the importance of not underestimating their region 8-A opponent.
“They’re 1-4, but they are a heck of a 1-4 team,” said Justice. “They have a very tough schedule. It’s not like they are 1-4 and haven’t played anyone. If our kids start dwelling on scores and records, we are in trouble, because they are a really good team.”
The Eagles run a two-back, one-tight-end offense, which stands in contrast to the spread offenses that the Tigers have faced thus far.
The Tigers are 6-0 when it comes to matchups with the Eagles, most recently crushing Athens Christian 41-0 in last year’s contest.
Even considering the records, Justice does not underrate the Eagles talent.
“They have good size up front and they have good athletes at the skill positions,” he said. “I thought they were like that last year as well, but it was just one of those games where everything we did worked right and nothing they did worked out for them.”
Justice plans on using practice to work on correcting any mistakes his Tigers have been making, but he claims that the primary focus for this week is simply going into Friday’s game with the right attitude.
“Win or lose, we are always trying to correct the mistakes we’ve been making, he said. “The biggest thing is just making sure our kids have the right attitudes and put last Friday’s loss behind us. That chapter is closed. We are going to focus on Athens Christian.”
Kickoff will be at 8:00 p.m. on Friday at Tiger Field at Ray Lamb Stadium.
George Walton Academy Recap
Commerce (4-1) received its first loss of the season last Friday to region 8-A opponent George Walton Academy (4-1).
After a couple punts, a Commerce fumble and a missed field goal by George Walton, Commerce got on the board when quarterback Drew Whitfield scored from one yard following an 80-play drive in the first quarter.
George Walton answered quickly with a 68-yard drive capped off by a one-yard rushing touchdown on the ensuing drive. After a Tiger punt, George Walton had a chance to go up by three, but the GWA kicker missed yet another 30-yard field goal as time waned in the second quarter.
Coming out of halftime with the score tied 7-7, Commerce forced a fumble on the kick-off. Starting the drive with excellent field position, Terrick Ramsey broke loose for a 25-yard touchdown run putting the Tigers up 14-7.
Once the fourth quarter rolled around, George Walton’s offense controlled the ball as well as the game. The Bulldogs scored on consecutive drives, while the Tigers struggled to earn a first down.
George Walton Academy dominated the fourth quarter, dealing the Tigers a 26-14 region loss.
“I thought all of our kids played hard for 48 minutes, they just ran out of gas at the end,” said Justice. “We had our chances and we didn’t take advantage of some opportunities. Sometimes you lose. We came up on the short end of the stick. I’m really proud of our kids, though. They played tough for 48 minutes and you can’t ask for much more.”
Commerce finished the game with 199 total offensive yards, approximately 100 less than in any of their four previous contests.
Quay Little led the Tiger offense with 12 carries for 70 yards, while Chase Ledbetter led the defensive squad in tackles, making 15.
“I told them after the game, that they had no reason to hang their heads,” added Justice. “They played hard and competed. There is no reason to dwell on the loss. You are going to lose some. That’s just the way it is. I told them to take the weekend to get the bad taste out of their mouths and put it behind them because we have a big game coming up. They are all big games.”
