Jackets open subregion on the road
Calhoun visits Rebels with momentum, without Dennis
Calhoun will enter Friday night’s Region 6-AAA South subregion opener at Haralson County feeling good about the way they are playing but also missing a key contributor to their success.
The Jackets visit Haralson County on Friday at 7:30 p.m. to open subregion play coming off back-to-back impressive performances, defeating Coahulla Creek 56-12 and following that up with a 31-7 victory at North Murray last Friday. Calhoun coach Hal Lamb said his team seems to be clicking following the early-season struggles against some very good teams.
“I feel like we played really well in all phases last Friday,” said Lamb. “It was the most complete game we’ve put together to this point. We’re still not where we want to be if we want to get to where we want to go, but I was pleased with our effort and execution against North Murray.
Calhoun (3-2) had over 300 yards of offense in the victory at North Murray, displaying a balanced attack with 193 yards on the ground and 134 through the air. They utilized a two-quarterback system with senior Baylon Spector and sophomore Gavin Gray both taking their share of snaps, and it worked well. Lamb said they plan to continue to use the two-headed attack going forward for the time being.
It wasn’t all good news, however, from the win as the Jackets lost preseason All-State running back Olico Dennis to a knee injury during the second quarter, and the senior is expected to miss the rest of the season.
“It’s obviously a big blow to us,” said Lamb. “But you’ve got to understand in sports that injuries might happen. It’s a tough situation, and I hate it for Olico because he’s a tremendous player and kid. Hopefully, we’ll have kids step up in that role. Our philosophy has always been next man up. Jess Ralston, Zach Fuller and Keenon Dixon are the next three in line so we’ll see how it goes with them. It’s an opportunity for them to step in and play well for us.”
The Calhoun defense also held up their end of the bargain against the Mountaineers, giving up 163 yards, with many of those coming on North Murray’s lone scoring drive in the third quarter.
The Jackets will now turn their attention to Haralson County (1-3), a team they haven’t played since 1979, but is now a co-member of 6-AAA South following reclassification last year. The Rebels are coming off a big win at LFO last Friday, 55-0. It was their first win of the year after an 0-3 start, but Lamb said they still pose challenges and his team can’t take them lightly.
“(Haralson County) is a pretty good team despite their record,” said Lamb. “They run the Wing-T and are a 3-3 stack defense. They’re well-coached also. It’s going to be a new opponent for us, and we’ve never been there. It will be about an hour and a half trip so we’ll have to handle that.
“We’ve got to handle a new place and a new atmosphere. But most of all we’ve got to do what we do and continue to get better every week. If we go out and take care of business like we’re capable of, I think we’ll be okay.”
Lamb and Vohun are familiar with each other as Lamb played for Vohun when he was the head coach at West Georgia in the mid1980s.
Calhoun is now done with the non-region and region crossover portion of their schedule as they get to the games that actually have playoff implications. And despite the long road trip, they’ve drawn a relatively manageable opening assignment in subregion play.
The Jackets have momentum after two dominant wins, and even with the loss of Dennis, they will still be by far the more talented team on the field on Friday. It might be a long trip down, but it will be a happy trip back.
Score: Prediction:
Calhoun wins, 49-13.