Football Friday, Week 4 — Five local teams will suit up Friday night, while Armuchee will return to action Saturday after a quarantine.
♦ Five teams suit up Friday night, while Armuchee returns to action Saturday.
It’s the fourth week of Floyd Football Friday. Five teams compete on Friday night as Armuchee Indians football returns after a quarantine on Saturday. The fall season is here, which means it’s football time. This is Floyd Football Friday.
Cherokee County (Ala.) (4-1) vs. Armuchee (1-0), 7 p.m. Saturday
The Armuchee Indians return after a two-week quarantine to battle Cherokee County High School from Centre, Alabama. The Cherokee Warriors, out of Alabama’s Class AAAA Region 4, travel east across the state line after a 47-12 victory over White Plains last Friday.
“They’re a very, very good football team,” Indians head coach Jeremy Green said about Cherokee in a phone interview. “A lot of tradition lately. A lot of great players and they’re well coached.”
Armuchee’s first full team practice
after the quarantine period came on Tuesday evening, and Green is encouraged by what he saw.
“I was really proud of them because it was hard,” Green said. “You don’t get to play for two weeks, ( but) our guys didn’t come in and pout about it. You wouldn’t have known that we had gone
through any adversity by the way the kids reacted and responded. I think there’s other places you could’ve coached and this would’ve been like pulling teeth and it wasn’t like that. I think they’re excited to go play.”
Armuchee’s lone game of the season to this point was a come- from- behind 10- 7 win at Towns County back on Sept. 4.
Coosa (2-0) at Pickens (1-2), 7:30
p.m. Friday
The Coosa Eagles remain on the road and travel east to Pickens High School in Jasper for their week four matchup against the Dragons. The Dragons play in Class AAAA, so its another non-region test for Mathis’ Eagles.
Pickens is 1-2 so far in 2020, currently looking to snap a two-game losing streak. The lone win was earned in week one over Gilmer 17-8.
The Dragons are led at quarterback by freshman Sam Streicher. Streicher has completed 25-for-55 passing for 329 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Expect senior running back Jarod Whitmore to take majority of the carries. With 65 carries under his belt, Whitmore has 288 yards on the ground and two TDS.
Darlington (2-0) at Heard County
(3-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday
The Darlington Tigers take their talents south of I-20 to battle the Heard County Braves in Franklin. Darlington is fresh off a 41- 9 home win over St. Francis, which saw the Tigers open up an early secondhalf lead of 31-0 before allowing points.
Darlington quarterback Patrick Shelley threw and ran for a touchdown in the 32-point win. Shelley was 8-for-12 for 77 yards passing and picked up 45 yards on the ground.
Darlington senior Harrison Allen made his presence known last Friday, scoring a rushing touchdown with 151 yards from scrimmage as well as recording 3.5 tack
les on defense.
The Heard County Braves remain undefeated in 2020 after a 35-20 home win over Manchester last Friday.
Haralson County (3-0) at Model
(2-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday
The Model Blue Devils host the Rebels of Haralson County Friday night at Woodard-tuggle Stadium. Model is in search of a three- game win streak while Haralson County looks to remain undefeated in 2020.
“They’ve defeated three quality opponents, ... they’re just good, old-fashioned smash-mouth football,” Model head coach Jeff Hunnicutt said. “Ultimately, we’ve got to control the ball. We’re going to have to take the football, sustain drives and control that aspect.”
Two targets the Blue Devil defense will look to contain is junior quarterback Clay Hyatt and senior running back Marc Harris.
Model senior Richard Sims and the Blue Devil defense face a tough test Friday. Sims recorded 11 total tackles with an interception and forced fumble. On offense, Sims posted two catches for 26 yards.
“We’ve talked about our defensive front and our pad level,” Hunnicutt said. “Try to match that same intensity. It’s an ultimate test for both teams.”
The Rebels are coming off a 21- 10 win at Bowdon last Friday.
Rome (1-1) at Collins Hill (2-1),
7:30 p.m. Friday
The Rome Wolves remain on the road and prepare to battle the Collins Hill Eagles of Class AAAAAAA. Collins Hill is one of the top-ranked teams in the state, with its only loss so far to Grayson 28-7.
Junior quarterback Sam Horn leads the Eagles offensively with 795 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Fellow junior Travis Hunter has been Horn’s top target, catching 28 passes for 356 yards and five TDS.
Junior running back Spenser Anderson handles majority of the workload on the ground, racking up 141 yards and three scores.
For Rome, they’ll be led by seniors Caleb Ellard at quarterback and EJ Burks at running back. Ellard has so far thrown for 192 yards with two apiece in the touchdown and interception categories. Burks has 47 carries for 297 yards and one touchdown. Senior wide receiver Jay Wise has eight catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
Dominion Christian (2-2) at Unity Christian (3-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday
The Unity Christian Lions look to move their record to 4-0 Friday night as they face the Dominion Christian Knights. The location of the contest is still to be determined as field conditions following rain will be evaluated late Friday morning.
Lions head coach Nick Jones returns to the headset after a family loss last week. In his absence, the Lions routed Fideles 74-6 last Friday.
“We have to play a really good all-around football game to secure the win against Dominion,” Jones said on the upcoming contest. “I like the challenge it presents our team. Every week we can get better, it helps us and prepares us for hopefully what will be a postseason run.”
In the 68-point win over Fideles, senior quarterback Drew King threw 6-for-8 for 104 yards with three TD passes and one rushing score. Sophomore Eli Thompson picked up 124 yards on the ground with three trips to the end zone.
“(Dominion Christian) runs several different defensive schemes which makes calling the offense a little trickier,” Jones said. “We definitely have our hands full. As far as us on defense, they do present an issue in the fact that they like to run an option ... so that presents a little wrinkle to us.”
Dominion Christian is 2-2 on the season after a 44- 24 home win over Solid Rock Academy last Friday.