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Jags looking for history

September 26, 2007

abrown

“When’s the last time we were 2-2?”
That’s the question Barbour County head coach Juan Williams asked his team after the Jaguars scored a 28-14 win over Horseshoe Bend on Friday.
The answer to the second-year head coach’s question is way back in 2003 when the Jaguars opened the season with wins over Stewart-Quitman and Dadeville. The Jaguars were eventually forced to forfeit the wins due to the use of an ineligible player.
But that’s ancient history.
These days, the Jaguars have a different kind of history in mind – program history.
After a 24-20 win over Class 3A Abbeville in the season opener, and last week’s win over Horseshoe Bend, the Jaguars are on the prowl for win No. 3 – a win that would give the 2007 Jaguars the highest win total in program history, tying the 2002 squad’s total.
That win will be tough to come by this week as the Jaguars board the bus and head to Opelika to take on Class 4A Beauregard.
The Hornets are 3-1 on the season with their lone loss coming to region-rival Cleburne County – a team that also owns a 3-1 record.
The road doesn’t get much easier after that with games against traditional power Luverne and a one-loss Highland Home team.
That’s not to say the Jaguars couldn’t put all the pieces together and pull of an upset against one or both of these teams. Anything can happen on a Friday night.
I really believe the Jaguars are going to turn in one of - if not - their best season to date. I don’t have a crystal ball, so I don’t know when the win will come but I feel like Coach Williams and the Jaguars will get their third win of the season. Actually I believe the Jags could go 4-6 with wins over Reeltown (1-3) and Bullock County (0-3).
Here’s hoping they do.

Prep Football Ramblings Week 4

September 24, 2007

jjohnson

I have to admit of being surprised that Enterprise stands at 4-0. After rallying past Carroll in its opener and looking less than impressive in beating Dothan, I figured the Wildcats would have a couple of losses at this point. Northview had Enterprise on the ropes, but the Wildcats wiggled away with a victory. I still didn’t have faith in Enterprise until they whipped up on Central of Phenix City last week to the tune of 28-7. Now I’m a believer. Not that Central is a powerhouse, but the Red Devils always have some quality athletes and the way Enterprise prevailed is certainly impressive.
How about former Houston Academy coach Rodney Dollar coming away with a big win with his Tallassee team over in Ozark on Friday? Down 21-0 at halftime, Tallahassee scored in the final minute to win 35-34. Dollar’s teams at HA always played with a lot of heart, and it appears the Tallassee group is doing the same.
Here’s believing the most interesting region in the Wiregrass to follow is Class 2A, Region 2 with the likes of Cottonwood, Wicksburg, Houston Academy, Houston County, G.W. Long, New Brockton, Geneva County and Samson. Three of those teams remain unbeaten after four weeks (Cottonwood, Wicksburg and Houston Academy). All three get real tests this Friday when Wicksburg plays at Florala, Cottonwood goes to Ariton and HA hosts Slocomb. If all three come out of this week without a blemish, I’ll be just a bit surprised.
Congratulations to Elba’s Carlos Matias for his 275 yards of rushing in a win over Slocomb and to Daleville’s Jonas Randolph, who had 341 yards of all-purpose yards in a win over Opp.
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Prep football ramblings

September 18, 2007

wmchugh

Jon Johnson
Sports Editor

Three weeks into the season and there’s certainly been some games to remember.

I may have seen the best game of the entire season several weeks ago when Florala scored on the last play of the game to break a tie against Providence Christian. The Eagles set for a field goal attempt to win it with four seconds left, but it was blocked and the ball popped into the air and into the waiting arms of a Florala player, who then dashed about 80 yards for a touchdown. Unreal.

Despite the setback, I was extremely impressed with the condition and inspired play of the Eagles. Emory Latta has really got something special going on over there in such a short amount of time. Jake Nobles is a tremendous talent on the small school level. He does a little bit of it all on offense - is a great runner, receiver and placekicker for Providence.

The Dothan-Opelika game was tough to watch last Friday as the Tigers lost 56-0. I feel for the Dothan team, which battles hard but just can’t seem to generate any offense. Here’s hoping the players, coaches and fans keep their heads up, continue working hard and at some point this season enjoy some success.

You’ve got to be impressed with how Enterprise continues to pull out big victories, such as the opening win over Carroll and then last Friday’s comeback against Northview. A 16-point fourth quarter rally won it for the Wildcats against the Cougars, and you’ve got to believe the confidence level of the team got a huge boost with the win. It will be another tough challenge this week when Central of Phenix City visits Bates Memorial.

Northview tries to get back on the winning side at Opelika. It won’t be easy on Friday, but I believe this Cougar team is really close to turning the corner and will enjoy more good times than bad the rest of the season.

How about Cottonwood, Wicksburg and Houston Academy, three Class 2A teams in the same region, continuing to play well?

The Raiders have battled injuries in their first three games, which has included senior quarterback Watson Downs, but continue to shine. Coach Jimmy Addison is working wonders with what’s an extremely young team overall.

Cottonwood, under new coach Toby Greene, and Wicksburg, under new coach Danny Whiddon, have been just as impressive on the field.

Both teams have extremely talented players on both sides of the football.

I believe this region will be a fight to the finish.