The Sonoraville Phoenix have been looking for a signature win under Jim Kremer for the past two seasons to show that the program has stepped up a level, and on Friday they’ll get another opportunity at just that.
The Phoenix visit Ringgold at 7:30 p.m. in a matchup of Region 6AAA playoff contenders. The winner of the contest will have the inside track on the No. 3 seed for the Class AAA State Playoffs, and Kremer said this is the type of game that could show everyone where the Sonoraville program is currently and where it’s going.
“If we want to show that we’re going to keep the ball rolling in the right direction, this is one we need to get,” said Kremer. “At some point, we’ve got to get in a win against a top team in the region like Ringgold. We’ve been right there a couple of times, this season against Adairsville and last year against Ringgold. We’ve got to play four full quarters and be ready for a big challenge.”
Sonoraville (4-3, 3-2) has been to the playoffs each of the last two seasons as the No. 4 seed out of their region, while Ringgold has been the No. 2 and No. 3 the last two years. The Phoenix set forth a goal this season to improve their playoff seed, and a win Friday at Ringgold would go a long way in setting that up as a real possibility.
The Tigers (3-3, 2-2) are in the midst of an up and down season as they’ve alternated wins and losses in their six games so far. Still, Kremer said his team is preparing for a big test, especially from Ringgold’s impressive passing game.
“They’ve got one of the best two quarterbacks in our region, and he’s got a lot of talent around him which makes for a very good offense,” said Kremer. “They’re going to throw the ball around a lot. They’re pretty young on defense so we’ve got to move the ball on offense to keep them in check.
“We’ve had to look at our goals and re-estab- lish them at this part of the season, and being the No. 3 seed is what we’ve set our sights on. We’ve got to take one game at a time, starting with Ringgold.”
Sonoraville is coming off a tough night last Friday in a 38-0 loss against Calhoun as they got behind early and never really could get anything going against the talented, big and physical Jackets.
“They came out and got us in some sets that we haven’t seen, and you got to be able to adjust to that and we didn’t,” said Kremer. “We were really reeling from the get-go, and they have a very, very good team. The positive I saw was that out kids played as hard as they could and never quit. Calhoun was just the better team on Friday.”
Sonoraville has lost all three previous meetings against Ringgold, all of which have come in the past three seasons. They had a halftime lead on the Tigers last season, but Ringgold came out and controlled the second half.
Kremer said his team has to achieve several specific things in Friday’s game in order to pull off the tough road win.
“We’ve got to put pressure on their quarterback,” said Kremer. “We also need to shut down the run defensively to make them one-dimensional. When we have the ball, we’ve got to move the chains to keep their offense off the field some. One thing I’ve seen from Ringgold over the past few years is they never quit. If you get a lead on them, you’ve got to keep the foot on the gas because they won’t go away.”
Prediction:
The Phoenix have shown signs that they are an improving program, but a big road win over Ringgold would show more tangible evidence of that.
Ringgold has been inconsistent this season, but still pose a threat, especially in their home stadium.
Sonoraville’s big front line on offense and defense will be counted on to establish the line of scrimmage. They should help the Phoenix win a physical, hard-fought battle.
Score:
wins, 28-21.
Sonoraville