Week 1 Previews
Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 29, 2002
Central Christian opens their season tonight at Memorial Stadium against Ashford with a lot of questions unanswered.
After losing most of their key players from last year, and being short on numbers this year things look bleak for Central Christian.
One of the things that Central Christian has tried to do is compensate in discipline, and conditioning. &uot;We have worked hard trying to strengthen our players, and make them disciplined since they are so young,&uot; said Niblett
Offensive line could be a problem for Central, and the fact that they don’t have any wide receivers doesn’t help either.
Central Christian takes on Ashford tonight at Memorial Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
Dallas County at Maplesville
Dallas County travels to Maplesville Friday night to play what some think might be their biggest game of the year.
Some of the things that Dallas county head coach Tom Causey wanted to improve on from last year was the ability to hold onto the ball, and tackling. The ability to tackle has definitely improved that they held Chilton County scoreless over the first two quarters proved that. The 28 points they put up in the first half definitely proved they could hold onto the ball better.
One of the key players that Causey was looking for leadership, and playing ability from this year was Clifford Lyons. Lyons had an 88 yard touchdown run against Chilton County last Friday night, and that should prove that he is ready for the season opener.
Dallas County takes on Maplesville Friday night in Maplesville at 7:30 p.m.
Francis Marion vs Sunshine
Francis Marion takes on Sunshine in their season opener Friday night in Marion at 7:30 p.m.
Francis Marion goes into the year with a good class of returners from last year, and the fact that they have had a year to get stronger should be very helpful.
This season Francis Marion looks to spread the field, and throw the ball more than in the past. &uot;We have a real good group of receivers this year, and that should allow us to throw the ball more than we have in the past,&uot; said Thurman.
Keith vs A.L. Johnson
Keith High open their season Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against A.L. Johnson in Orville.
Keith looks to overcome mistakes from last year which cost them a chance at a good season. &uot;Last year we made a lot of mistakes on the offensive side of the ball, because most of the players really didn’t know the system,&uot; said head coach Harry Crum. &uot;This year we have tried to simplify things more, so we can do a few good things right instead of doing a lot of things mediocre.&uot;
Some of the players that Crum looks to for leadership this season are Jimmy Dickinson, and Emit Dukes.
Lowndes vs Hooper
Lowndes Academy has been waiting on this game for an entire year, and now they finally get their chance at a little payback. Lowndes takes on Hooper Academy tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Lowndes.
Lowndes hopes to take average players, and with hard work and discipline turn them into the type of football team that can be real winners.
Lowndes Academy takes on Hooper Academy Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Lowndes.
MCS vs Cottage Hills
Meadowview Christian opens their season Friday night at home against Cottage Hills.
With Meadowview returning only three players from last year with any real playing time this could look to be the beginning of a long season for the Trojans.
Strength and conditioning played a major factor in getting ready for this season for Meadowview.&uot;We felt that getting into the weight, and working on physical conditioning had to be the main focus on getting ready for the season,&uot; said head coach Rick Jackson. &uot;We really needed to get these kid’s quicker and stronger in as short a period of time as we could.&uot;
Shane Lee and Chip Ferrell are two of the players that Jackson looks for leadership fro this year. &uot;Lee has been very impressive so far he is really grasping what we are trying to do, and Ferrell has been a big help on and off the field.
Meadowview Christian looks to start things off on the right foot Friday night against Cottage hills at Wasden Field at 7:30 p.m.
R.C. Hatch vs Linden
It has been a while since R.C. Hatch has been on the winning side of a ball game. They look to change all that Friday night when they take on Linden in their season opener.
Head Coach Jamie Abraham looks to an experienced offensive line to be their strong suit this year. &uot;We have older more experienced players this year especially at offensive line, and we hope that they can be our strong suit this year,&uot; said Abraham.
R.C. Hatch takes on Linden Friday night in Uniontown at 7:30 p.m.
Wilcox Academy at Greenville
After losing 12 seniors last year they are looking for some players to step, and fill key positions.
Josh Vick is one of the kids that Burford hopes can step, and be a leader on the team. &uot;Josh is our quarterback, and he is an excellent defensive back, and we look for a lot out of him this year,&uot; said Burford.
Wilcox Academy plays Greenville tonight at 7:30 in Greenville.
Wilcox Central at Lanier
Wilcox Central rolls into Sidney Lanier Friday night on the heels of a 12 win season where they dominated just about everybody they went up against. This year things want fall quite that way for them.
Wilcox Central lost just about all of the key players they had last year, and this year looks to be a rebuilding process for them.
Wilcox Central plans to play a lot of players this season in hopes of finding some sort of chemistry. Wilcox Central plays Sidney Lanier Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Sidney Lanier.
Morgan vs Tuscaloosa
Morgan Academy takes their first steps in getting back to the winning ways that they have become accustomed to Friday night against Tuscaloosa.
One of the things that they have worked at is getting stronger in the off season. &uot;We are a lot stronger this year than we were last year. All the kids have had a full year of weight lifting, and conditioning and that should help us be a lot stronger, and quicker than we were last year,&uot; said head coach Robert Gartman.
Morgans strong suit this year should be the fact that they pretty much return their entire defense from last year. &uot;The fact that we can line up someone at every position on defense that started last year should help us be able to be more cohesive on that side of the ball,&uot; said Gartman.
Josh Gardner, and Travis Lyons are two players that Gartman looks for big things from this year. &uot;Gardner did an outstanding job at running back last year once we got settled into what we were doing, and Lyons did a good job at quarterback, said Gartman.