Warriors visit Murray County looking for positive start
Gordon Central is looking to put the past behind them and simply look forward, and the best way for them to make the last three years a distant memory is a little bit of success.
The Warriors open the regular season on Friday with a road trip to Chatsworth to take on Murray County in a nonregion showdown at 7:30 p.m., and a win would go a long way in starting a new era of Gordon Central football with a bang.
Gordon Central, who has combined to win just two games in the last three seasons, has moved down to Class AA in 2016, and fourth-year coach David Humphreys said he and his team is viewing the move as a chance to refocus and hopefully get some positive momentum going. He said starting the season with a road win would be a big boost, but he knows there is a challenge in front of his Warriors.
“I would be huge for us to go up there and get a win,” said Humphreys. “It would be a great shot in the arm for our program and for the kids. It would reinforce that all the hard work they’ve put in has been worth it. But Murray County is a solid team that’s improved in the last few years, and we knew that when we scheduled them. I like to schedule games against tough competition rather than teams we think we can just push around. For us to go up there on Friday and play well and keep our mistakes down would tell us a lot about this team.”
The Indians have also been in a rebuilding phase in recent years, and they’ve seen progress over the last three under head coach Chad Brewer. They have doubled their win total each of the last three seasons. Humphreys said Murray County has several new starters in place this season, but they are a talented team as a whole.
“They have a new quarterback that handles things well and is a good runner,” said Humphreys. “Defensively, they’ve only got a few starters back. But from everything we’ve heard, Coach Brewer is excited about this group. We’ve got to manage to pick up some yards offensively and get first downs, and defensively, we’ve got to eliminate the big play.”
Gordon Central trails the all-time series against the Indians, who are now in Region 6-AAA North, including losing the last three between the two sides.
The Warriors are coming off a positive scrimmage against Sonoraville last Friday in which they saw some things they can build on after getting off to a tough start with the Phoenix building a quick 21-0 lead. Humphreys said after watching the film, he saw more good than bad.
“We had some missed tackles and blown assignments early, but we calmed down from there and got back in it,” said Humphreys. “Offensively we were able to overcome a few bad series and then finally put a long drive together to score, which we followed up by getting a three-and-out. Our offensive line played better than we were anticipating with so many new starters, and the young kids got out there and played pretty well and got some firsts out of the way. Overall, we came out of it with a lot more positives than negatives.”
As far as this coming Friday, Humphreys said there are a few keys his team must accomplish in order to have success on the road.
“On defense, we’ve got to eliminate big plays,” said Humphreys. “We can’t allow long runs. If we do that, we’ll be right where we want to be. Offensively, we’ve got to secure the football and get first downs. We’ve got some kids that can make plays so they just have to do it.”
Prediction:
The Warriors need a win to prove that they’ve come a long way this offseason, which has been the word from preseason camp. The running game will be big, and Gordon Central has several runners led by junior Branson Towe, that should play a big role. This game will be a battle on the ground.
GC wins, 20-18.
Score: