Calhoun aims for 16th straight crown
Jackets host LFO looking for another region title
The stakes are simple for Calhoun going into Friday’s Region 6-AAA play-in matchup against LFO at Phil Reeve Stadium at 7:30 p.m. The No. 1 priority is with a win, the Jackets get to continue their season into the Class AAA playoffs. No. 2 is a win secures their 16th straight region title, one of the most impressive streaks in Georgia high school football. And No. 3 is a win gives them a No. 1 seed for the state playoffs.
After a big win last week over Bremen thanks to a dominant second half to earn the top seed in the South subregion, Calhoun (7-2, 4-0) now turns their attention to the one-game season portion of their schedule as from here on out it is win or go home.
Despite most people seeing Friday’s game against LFO (1-8, 1-3) as a coronation of the region champs rather than a real challenge, Calhoun coach Hal Lamb said his team will take no one lightly and focus on what the prize is with a win.
“LFO has struggled this year winning just one game, but Coach (Bo) Campbell has done a good job there and they are playing hard. They just haven’t had many breaks go their way this season,“said Lamb. “We need to go out and focus on ourselves and not who is on the other side because a win means we are region champs.
“It is amazing once you sit back and think about it (going for 16 straight region titles.) We have the opportunity on Friday to accomplish one of our goals every year, which is to win a region title. It’s really shocking and unlikely to win 16 in a row, but that’s a credit to the community, all the players that have come through the program and all the coaches. It’s exciting no doubt. Hopefully, we can go out and get the job done.“
Calhoun comes into the game off a 46-21 victory over Bremen, but the score wasn’t indicative of how competitive the game was into the second half. The Jackets led 34-21 at the half, but thanks to some big defensive plays and a consistent offense, they were able to pull away to a comfortable lead in the final two quarters. The two-headed attack at quarterback once again showed its effectiveness with Baylon Spector running for 64 yards and two touchdowns and throwing for 55 yards and a touchdown while Gavin Gray was 13-of-22 passing for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Four different players caught TD passes led by Ryan Randall who had 69 yards receiving.
Randall also made his mark on defense with 15 total tackles to lead the team. Bailey Lester had 14 total tackles, including three for loss and a sack, Davis Allen contributed 14 total tackles (seven solo, seven assists) and Spector was also in double digits with 10 stops, including two for loss.
Lamb said it was a good thing for his team to be in a competitive game like that now that they are headed toward what they hope to be a deep postseason run.
“I think it helps us in the long run,“said Lamb. “I knew it was going to be like that because we are still coaching teenagers, and we were coming off an emotional win the previous week against Sonoraville. Then we turned around and played a really good team in Bremen. At the end of the day, we won the football game and played hard to get the win.“
LFO’s lone win this season came on Oct. 7 against Coahulla Creek to keep them out of the cellar in 6-AAA North. But they’ve had little success other than that as their defense has given up 40 or more points six times in 2016.