Calhoun goes Way-cross state for 2nd round

Apparently the road to Atlanta runs near the Florida line.

At least that is the case for the Calhoun High School football team when they resume play Friday night in the Georgia high school 5A state playoffs with a second-round matchup against Ware County in Waycross which, according to Google Maps, is 307 miles from our great little town.

Just how close is Ware County to the Florida line? Well, their nickname is the Gators.

“It’s going to be a real challenge this week and not just because we’re playing probably the best team we’ve played all year,” Calhoun head football coach Clay Stephenson said. “There’s a lot of logistics involved in playing a game like this as far away as it is. We’ve got to arrange the travel. We’ve got make plans for the meals. We want to make sure we get there in plenty of time, so we can kind of get the lay of the land and make sure everyone is loosened up and ready to go. So, there’s a lot of planning that goes into playing a game this far away, but I think we are prepared for anything that we may have to deal with.”

Despite the Yellow Jackets’ regular routine being changed up because of the distance involved between the two schools and the mystery of facing a team for the first time ever, this is the Georgia state football playoffs where winners want to be in that title game in Atlanta next month and

Stephenson said they wouldn’t trade their situation for anything.

“We are super excited to be playing this week and hoping we can play our best football Friday night,” he said. “I know we got a lot of stuff going on right now that we normally don’t have to ever think about, but we’ve got a chance to win another playoff football game and that’s really the bottom line focus for us. I feel like we’ve got great senior leadership on this team and no matter how far we have to go, because of what is at stake, we’ll be ready to go Friday night.”

The Jackets began the postseason last Friday night at chilly Phil Reeve Stadium with a 35-21 ousting of Decatur. The hosts fell behind 13-0, but then got it going and totally dominated the game down the stretch.

“We got off to a sluggish start, but I was really pleased with the way the kids played in the second half,” Stephenson said. “You fall behind 13-0