Paths to season’s end differ for local quartet

Posted: Friday, October 26, 2012 12:02 pm

By RANDY CAVIN
Press Sports
The final week of the 2012 high school football season is here with two teams in the playoffs, one needing a win to make it for sure and the fourth team in the county playing for pride.
Dresden reached a pinnacle in the polls this by being ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 2A. The playoff-bound Lions close out the season on the road at Huntingdon, ranked No. 5 in Class 1A.
Gleason is also in the playoffs as of this week and can solidify its spot and a possible first round game at home with a win at Bruceton. The 5-4 Bulldogs are still in search of their first District 13A win of the season.
If Westview wins, they are in. If the Chargers lose at South Gibson on Friday night, then it is a waiting game. As of right now, the 4-5 Chargers would be the No. 8 team in Quad 4.
It is purely for pride for Greenfield right now. The 1-8 Yellowjackets would love nothing more than to knock off District 14A leading Trenton. The Golden Tide are sitting pretty at 5-0 in the district and 6-3 overall.
The game between Dresden and Huntingdon will decide the championship for District 13A. The Lions are undefeated in the district at 4-0. The Mustangs are 3-1 in the district and 7-2 overall.
Both teams rely heavily on the running game, and both defenses will be putting every effort to stop the primary rushers. Dresden’s defense will concentrate on stopping quarterback Jacob Warbritton. It will be a tough task for the Lions to contain Warbritton. He is third in the state with 1,832 yards on the ground.
Huntingdon will have its hands full trying to keep Dresden’s Devan Raymer from doing the same. Raymer is not big in size, but he knows how to grind out the yardage an seems to thrive in the big games.
In the game against Union City, Raymer rushed for 212 yards and three touchdowns. He also had a 58-yard scoring pass in that game. Raymer then picked up 94 yards on the ground the following week against a tough West Carroll defense.
According to the TSSAA playoff scenarios, if Dresden and West Carroll win, Dresden is first and West Carroll is second. If Huntingdon and West Carroll win, Dresden is first and West Carroll is second. If Huntingdon and McKenzie win, Huntingdon is first and Dresden is second. If Dresden and McKenzie win, Dresden is first and West Carroll is second.
It is much simpler for Westview. If the Chargers can come out of the South Gibson game with a win, then the Chargers will still be playing the following week. A loss would mean that the Chargers will need some help to get in.
The Chargers have made the postseason for eight consecutive years and have only missed the postseason twice during head coach Don Coady’s 22-year tenure at Westview.
Westview got back on the winning track last week against Gibson County after three consecutive defeats to quality teams. During that three-game losing streak, the Charger rushing attack only managed to average 49 yards. Against the Pioneers, though, the Chargers busted loose for 348 yards with Quan Williams rushing for 210 yards on 22 carries.
Westview will need every bit of a strong rushing attack to control the game against the Hornets, who are ranked No. 5 in Class 3A. The Hornets are averaging 45 points per game in their last four games and have allowed their opponents to score an average of 17 points during that same span.
The Chargers beat the Hornets last season 38-27 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Gleason is in the playoffs as of now after last week’s win over Scotts Hill. If the playoff were held this week, the Bulldogs would be a No. 5 seed in Quad 4 and would play at Lake County.
A Gleason win at Bruceton and a Lake County loss at Halls would put the Bulldogs in a position to move up a seed and host a playoff game. But first, the Bulldogs must do their part and beat the Tigers.
Gleason got its offense in high gear last week and used big plays in its 53-21 win over Scotts Hill. This week’s game is not one the Bulldogs should overlook. Bruceton gave Dresden all it could handle back on Sept. 14. The Tigers lost to the Lions in that game 17-7.
Bruceton (1-8) has had its share of problems when it comes to stopping teams from scoring. The Tigers are giving up nearly 33 points per game this season and their offense has been struggling as well. Bruceton has only scored an average of 13 points per game.
Gleason, on the other hand, is putting up nearly 24 on the board each game thanks to the running of Will Clark, Chase Ezell, Kyle Williams and the passing of Tanner Trevathan. The defense is allowing its opponents to score just over 18 points each contest.
Greenfield has a monumental task ahead itself on Friday with district leading Trenton. The Golden Tide are looking to win District 14A outright with a perfect 6-0 record.
The Yellowjackets would like nothing better than to upset Trenton’s plans at celebrating a district championship on their home turf.
A win for Greenfield would go a long way and give its opponents something to think about next season. The Yellowjackets have played some good football in at least three games this season. They gave Lake County all they wanted, broke a 15-game losing streak when they beat Bruceton and came very close to beating Riverside last week.
A win over Trenton would also break an 11-game district losing streak that dates back to Week 9 of the 2010 season. Published in The WCP 10.25.12