GC looks for turnaround on Homecoming
It hasn’t been a very good first half of the season for Gordon Central as losses and injuries have added up in a hurry, but the Warriors will have an opportunity to get the back half of their schedule started on a positive note on Friday.
Gordon Central (0-5, 0-2) head into Homecoming week this week and will host Dade County on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Ratner Stadium. The Warriors haven’t found much success in their first two region games the last two weeks as they were outscored a combined 132-8 by Pepperell and Chattooga.
The Wolverines (1-4, 0-2) haven’t had a lot of positive things to feel good about either so far in 2016 and have lost three in a row coming into Friday’s game.
Gordon Central coach David Humphreys said Homecoming week should be a fun few days for his players, but at the same time, they have to prepare for a football game despite what is going on around them.
“I give the guys a little bit of wiggle room early in the week, but as the game gets closer, we’ve got to get focused,” said Humphreys. “I try to stay out of all the extra stuff and let the kids have some fun, but we’ve still got to focus and get ready to play. The main thing for us on Homecoming is taking care of the game and getting the win.”
The Warriors have lost several key contributors in the first month and a half of the season, but Humphreys said there is good news on the injury front. Starting linebacker Dalton Freeman could be released this week to practice and has a chance to play on Friday, Gauge Giddens returned last Friday against Chattooga following an ankle injury and played well according to Humphreys and Cameron Pierce and Chris Gibson also have the chance to return in the next few weeks.
Friday’s game will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2011, and they have split four all-time meetings with Gordon Central earning an overtime victory in their last contest.
Humphreys said his team is preparing for a hard-nosed, physical Dade County team.
“Their line is going to be big, and they are a run-oriented team,” said Humphreys. “They run their fullback a lot, but they’ll also take some shots down the field and also run some reverses and counters. We’ve got to keep our gap discipline in mind.
“Defensively, they’re a 4-3 team and try to box you in to keep you from getting outside. They’re like us with a lot of kids playing both ways.”
The Warriors will be looking for their first win since Sept. 25 of last year and their first home win since Oct. 10, 2014. Humphreys said there are some keys his team needs to accomplish in order to have success.
“The first thing is we’ve got to get stops,” said Humphreys. “And on the other side, we’ve got to put together some first downs and get some drives going. In both cases, it starts up front for us. We’ve got to get better play from our offensive and defensive lines. If we show up and play well, we could have a good night.”
Prediction:
Despite it being Homecoming, the Warriors will be the underdogs on Friday as they have done little so far this year to show that a win is a likely possibility. But this one will be as good a chance as they’ve had this season to end up on the right side of things.
Dade County is in the same boat, however, looking to win their first region game and avoid last place. The Wolverines have every intention of making Homecoming a bad night for the Warriors.
Dade County wins, 26-20.
Score: