Preview of August 24 Morgan County Football Games
By Terry Futrell and Greg Addington
August 16, 2018
Week 2 of the 2018 football season offers Morgan County fans three opportunities for some exciting games, including a major battle between Coalfield and York Institute. In this week’s preview, Greg Addington, voice of the Yellow Jackets, sports statistician, and sports historian provides his take on the challenges faced by Coalfield.
Coalfield vs York Institute
By Greg Addington
Coalfield begins the 2018 home schedule with a visit from the York Institute Dragons. Both teams went on the road to begin the season and earned shutout victories. Coalfield defeated Wartburg last Friday night 49-0 at John R. Dillon Field and York made the trip to Crossville and defeated Cumberland County by a final score of 41-0.
The Dragons are looking to avenge a home loss to Coalfield last year when the Jackets left Jamestown with a hard fought 34-20 win. Last year’s game was one of the more physical games Coalfield played during the season and the expectation is for more of the same this Friday night on Rochelle Field.
Offensively, the Dragons run the Wing-T offense led by senior quarterback Landrick Leffew. The southpaw signal caller ran for 10-yard and 46-yard touchdowns in last week’s game against the Jets. York also has effective backs with Cole Cooper and Thomas Miller at half back and big Josiah Heddings in the backfield at fullback. Defensively, the Dragons run a three-man front, but can show multiple defensive alignments and their linebackers aggressively attack the ball.
Last week the Jackets broke open a scoreless first half with a 28-point outburst. Ten different Jackets ran the ball and quarterback duties were split between junior Lance Byrd and senior Ashton Jones. Coalfield had short fields on several possessions but was still able to gain 229 yards on the ground.
Friday night’s kickoff is thirty minutes later than the typical kickoff time to allow York fans to make the drive to Rochelle Field, join us for the game at 8pm.
Wartburg at Harriman
After being shut out by Coalfield 49-0 in their season opener, the Bulldogs move on to face Region 2 opponent Harriman in Week 2. Wartburg lost to Harriman 37-16 in 2017. The Bulldogs come off a very physical game with Coalfield – at times the Wartburg sideline looked like an ER waiting room. But in spite of the score, there were several noteworthy aspects to the Bulldogs performance.
The Bulldog defense opened the game standing toe-to-toe with the Yellow Jackets offense, forced some errors by the Jackets, and held them scoreless for the first 15 minutes of play. For the game, Wartburg held Coalfield’s offense to a total of 270 yards, a very respectable performance. With Wartburg’s best receiver having to fill in for their injured quarterback, their offense was basically one-dimensional, which allowed Coalfield’s defense to focus on the run. Most important of all, the Bulldogs played their hearts out and never gave up throughout the game.
The Bulldogs ability to diversify their offense by incorporating an effective passing attack will likely be a major factor against Harriman.
Harriman has to be feeling good after knocking off Class 3A Kingston 24-21 in their season opener last Thursday. Unlike Coalfield that relied almost entirely on the run, passing is Harriman’s strength and they racked up 283 yards passing against Kingston behind the arm of quarterback Bradly Frost. The Bulldog secondary that was largely untested last week against Coalfield will have to prove their mettle against Harriman. On the defensive side, Harriman appears to be somewhat vulnerable to the run, which could provide an opportunity for Wartburg.
Two teams with very different strengths and weaknesses – fans should be treated to a heavy dose of exciting football at Harriman on Friday.
Oakdale vs Jellico
After a disappointing 22-0 loss to the Pickett County Bobcats in week 1, Oakdale faces the Region 1 Class 1A Jellico Blue Devils at home. Oakdale’s late start in enlisting enough players to field a team for the 2018 season proved to be a fatal flaw in the loss to Pickett County. With inadequate team practice repetitions being evident and poor physical conditioning taking its toll on players who had to play both offense and defense throughout the game, the outcome was not surprising.
The Jellico Blue Devils are arguably the weakest team remaining on Oakdale’s schedule and provide an opportunity for the Eagles to erase thoughts of last week’s loss. The Blue Devils were whipped by Williamsburg, Kentucky, in week 1 by a score of 60-6. Jellico changed head coaches twice during the summer. Michael Croley was named head coach on June 29, then decided on July 11 not to complete the necessary paperwork. Johnny Massengale was named interim coach for the 2018 season on July 16. Jellico also had difficulty in enlisting sufficient players to field a competitive team, with only 17 players on the roster in mid-July.
While Oakdale defeated Jellico 46-14 in their 2017 outing, the teams appear to be somewhat evenly matched in 2018. The Friday evening contest provides each team an opportunity to save face after their Week 1 losses. Look for some good competition in this one.
Sunbright has Open Date
Sunbright’s opener with Sale Creek in Week 1 was cancelled due to lightening with the Tigers surprisingly on the short end of a 21-0 score. The Tigers have this week off, giving them a few extra practice sessions to prepare for top-ranked Greenback on August 31.