Preview of September 14 Morgan County Football Games

September 12, 2018

Coalfield vs Oakdale

By Greg Addington

It’s really amazing how time flies as we zero in on week number five of the high school football season. Coalfield and Oakdale will spend the midpoint of the season on Rochelle Field Friday night.  Coalfield defeated Sunbright last week 41-6 up in Sunbright while Oakdale lost to Wartburg 49-0 in Wartburg.

Both teams are looking to find their way after losing a valued member of their line.  Coalfield lost senior Johnny Carroll during CHS’s game against Harriman and Oakdale lost senior Wayne Wilder to injury in last week’s game.

Against Sunbright, Coach Keith Henry got the strong start he’s been looking for as the CHS offense reached the end zone on three of their first four possessions.  The offense has made steady improvement and continues to build confidence with each passing week, gaining 402 yards of total offense, most of which coming on a ground attack featuring Anthony Foster, Seth Lowe, Ashton Jones and Jonathon Woodward.

The Eagles are looking for their second win of the year and would love nothing more than to spoil the party for Coalfield on Friday night.  The Eagles have talented and dangerous weapons on offense with Eli Solomon and Garrett Miller splitting time at quarterback and Caleb Willis and Tyler Hinds serving as effective threats when Coach JR Voyles’ offense has the ball. The Eagles will want to control the ball and time of possession as much as they can in order to keep the ball away from the Yellow Jackets.

Kickoff on Rochelle Field is Friday night at 7:30.

Sunbright vs Harriman

By Terry Futrell

The Sunbright Tigers continue their march through death valley in week five facing a tough Harriman team immediately after having battled two top-ten ranked teams, Greenback and Coalfield. The Tigers lost to Coalfield in week four 41-6.

For Sunbright, the game with Harriman is an opportunity to continue their week-to-week improvement on offense and hopefully remain in competition for a playoff berth. For Harriman, it is an opportunity to improve on their 1-1 Region 2 record and establish a probable path to the playoffs.

The lopsided score in the Coalfield and Sunbright game does not reflect improvements already shown by the Sunbright offense. In terms of first downs, Coalfield had only a 13-9 advantage. Sunbright’s offense was balanced, producing 85 yards on the ground and 94 yards through the air. The big differentiator in the game was four turnovers by the Tigers, compared to only one for the Jackets, coupled with some big play yardage by Coalfield.

Harriman is fresh off a huge 19-7 victory over the top-ten ranked Class 2A Oneida Indians. Harriman’s rushing defense was key to the Blue Devils victory, shutting down Oneida’s favored rushing attack and forcing the Indians to take to the air, where they were only successful on 2 of 14 passes. Oneida was limited to only five yards rushing in the second half and minus four yards total offense.

To have a chance of defeating Harriman, Tiger quarterback John Wayne Freels will have to find success in throwing the ball, which may take some pressure off the Tiger’s running attack. At the same time, the Tigers defense must shut down Harriman’s high-powered passing attack.

Kickoff is at 7:30 PM at Sunbright.

Wartburg Bulldogs have an Open Date