Preview of October 5 Morgan County Football Games
Coalfield at Greenback
By Greg Addington
The Yellow Jackets tackle arguably their biggest rival (in recent history) this week with a trip to Cooper Field for the annual showdown with Greenback. The Cherokees have been a consistent resident in the top spot of the Associated Press Class A football poll all year and are looking to continue their stranglehold on the top spot of Region 2-A. This rivalry only goes back to 1979, but has been especially spirited in the last couple decades.
Coalfield dominated time of possession and defeated Midway on Rochelle Field 22-13 last Friday night in a pivotal region contest. The Jacket offense was on the field for over 33 minutes and the Yellow Jackets put up good offensive numbers for the night with 239 yards of total offense. More importantly, the time of possession battle kept the Green Wave high powered spread offense off the field and gave the Coalfield defense more ammunition to be a disruptive force all night long. Midway was limited to 125 yards passing and 13 points after averaging 34.2 points in their five wins. Senior Jonathon Woodward led Coalfield on the ground with 90 yards on 13 carries. Isaac VanWitzenburg led the defense with nine total tackles and an interception, Daniel Scharr had eight total tackles, Keigan White recovered a fumble and Peyton McKinney also chipped in with an interception.
Greenback is coming off a bye week after defeating Grace Christian Academy on October 20 on Cooper Field 48-14. The Cherokees bolted to a 20-7 first quarter advantage and never looked back, compiling 367 yards of total offense, 246 of which came through the air via the arm of senior quarterback Bryce Hanley, who was 17-26 on the night and threw for five touchdowns. Greenback will feature former Alcoa running back Jalen McCord, who was cleared to play last week and expects significant playing time against the Jackets. The senior was leading rusher for the Tornadoes in last year’s Class 3A championship game victory.
Coalfield faces the “new look” Cherokees Friday night at Cooper Field with kickoff scheduled for 7:30.
Oakdale vs Lookout Valley
By Terry Futrell
Oakdale celebrates their homecoming this week by hosting non-region opponent Lookout Valley. The 1-5 (0-3 in the region) Eagles lost 28-8 last week to Sunbright. While the Eagles gained 79 yards through the air, their rushing offense totaled -50 yards. The Eagles now must face the 2-3 (1-1 in their region) Lookout Valley Yellow Jackets. Jellico is the only team played to date by both Oakdale and Lookout Valley. Oakdale defeated Jellico 12-8 on August 24, and the Yellow Jackets defeated Jellico 42-0 in their season opener the following week.
Lookout Valley defeated Sale Creek 36-6 this past week. The Yellow Jackets only Class A losses have been to powerful Whitwell and Huntland. Lookout Valley is reported to have good size and depth along the defensive line, which could spell trouble for the Eagles who had trouble running the ball against Sunbright. On the other hand, Lookout Valley does not have a lot of depth on offense. As has been the case so often this season, Oakdale’s ability to stop the Yellow Jacket offense for four quarters will be a key factor in this game.
Kickoff is at 7:30 PM on Hollis Eble Field.
Sunbright at Oliver Springs
By Terry Futrell
The 1-4 Sunbright Tigers face a major challenge as they travel to Oliver Springs to face the Bobcats Friday night. Oliver Springs is 5-1, losing only to No. 1 ranked Greenback, and the Bobcats led Greenback until late in the game. By comparison, the Tigers lost to Greenback on August 31 49-0.
This past week Sunbright defeated Oakdale 28-8. While the Tigers gained 215 yards on the ground, they were only able to pass for 13 yards against the Eagles. In contrast, the Bobcats defeated a strong Harriman team last week 20-14. Earlier in the season, Harriman bowled over Sunbright 49-6.
In order to beat the Bobcats, Sunbright will have to step up its passing game to create a more balanced offense. On defense, they will be challenged to stop the Bobcats multi-dimensional offense.
Kickoff is at 7:30 PM at Oliver Springs.
Wartburg at York Institute
By Terry Futrell and Greg Addington
Wartburg has now won three in a row (3-3 overall) for the first time since 2010 when the Bulldogs went 9-3 for the season. Coach Kevin Human believes his much-improved Bulldogs can play with any team remaining on their schedule. That theory will be put to the test this Friday as the Bulldogs travel to York Institute to take on the 5-1 Dragons. Coalfield is the only team played so far by both Wartburg and York – the Dragons defeated Coalfield 21-0 on August 24 after the Yellow Jackets whipped Wartburg 49-0 the week before.
Throw that comparison out the window folks, for this is not the same Bulldog team that played Coalfield early in the season. The Bulldog big-play offense is really clicking now, amassing 350 yards against Cumberland Gap last week. After giving up 149 points in the first three games, the Bulldog defense has limited opponents to 22 points in the last three games, while the offense racked up 147 points in those same three games.
York is big and strong, and is noted for playing a very physical style of football. Offensively, the Dragons run the Wing-T offense led by senior quarterback Landrick Leffew. 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 defense alignments and their linebackers are aggressively attacking the ball. They will most assuredly be Wartburg’s greatest challenge to date and provide a measuring stick against which to gage the Bulldogs remarkable progress.
Kickoff is at 7:30 PM CDT on the York campus in Jamestown.