Ware County’s tough beginning road to begin the season has Class 7A unbeaten Richmond Hill coming to town Friday night for the home opener at Memorial Stadium.
The Gators (1-1) are coming in off their first bye week of the season after opening with a 22-21 come-from-behind road win at Bainbridge and a tough 27-7 loss to current Class 6A Coffee.
“I thought we had a good week of practice and it was very competitive,” said head coach Jason Strickland. “We were able to get on the grass and get some looks at what Richmond Hill likes to do. The key for us is some of guys back from injuries. We (coaches) also did some shuffling along the offensive line. This is probably the thinest unit I’ve ever had.
“Having said all that, we’re excited to finally be playing at home. That’s huge. We always have great home crowds to come and support us. We’re playing a quality opponent so it should be fun.”
The Wildcats (3-0) would also escape 22-21 in their opening game against visiting Effingham County. They followed with a 427 home victory over Liberty County and held off visiting Jenkins of Savannah 31-27 last week.
Friday’s meeting is the 10th between the two schools in a series dominated by the Gators. Ware County leads 9-0 including 5-0 at Memorial Stadium winning by scores of 49-0, 34-17, 5124, 36-29 and 20-7. The Gators are 3-0 against Richmond Hill under Strickland winning by an average score of 28-14.
Strickland’s squad enters the contest unranked for just the third time in the series (2010, 2012) ending a streak of six consecutive encounters with Richmond Hill as a Top 10 member.
The Wildcats have won their first three games for the third consecutive year and the fifth time in head coach Matt Lezotte’s 12 years at the helm.
“Richmond Hill is really good,” said Strickland. “Coach Lezotte does a great job over there with that program.”
Senior quarterback Gunner Mobley (6-foot-1, 180) directs the Wildcats’ offense. He has com pleted 30-of 5 0 passes (60 perc ent) with five touchdowns and an interception.
Senior running back C.J. Menzie has amassed 336 yards on 61 rushes (5.5 yards per attempt) and scored a touchdown in each game. He rushed for 116 yards on 24 totes vs. Effingham County and 127 yards on 26 tries against Jenkins County.
Senior Eli Grant (5-10, 150) is Mobley’s favorite target pulling in 12 passes for 195 yards and three scores. He caught five passes for 138 yards with a long of 64 yards and two scores in the win against Jenkins.
“The quarterback is very athletic,” said Strickland. “The offense is run-based with some RPO (run/pass option) elements which is different than the historical 2-3 tight end offenses.
“The running back is really good. He’s thick and a powerful downhill runner. The wide receiver is a game-changer.
“We’ve got to win on first down and create turnovers. The biggest key is how we play in the box (defensive line to linebackers). We’ve got to tackle better, not let the quarterback get out on the perimeter and not let the wide receiver beat us deep.” Strickland said Richmond Hill utilizes a 4-2 defensive alignment. Through three games, the Wildcats’ defense has recovered four fumbles, picked off two passes and blocked four field goals.
“They (Wildcats) don’t give up big plays,” the coach said. “They make you try to put together methodical drives. They are fundamentally really good.”
Senior defensive tackle Tre Brown (6-3) anchors the defensive front. He is third on the team in tackles with 12, tied for the lead in tackles for loss with three, and has blocked two field goals. Senior defensive tackle Jaleal Barnard (5-11, 225) has 10 tackles, three tackles for loss and three quarterback sack.
“Their No. 7 (Brown) is a monster,” said Strickland. “He’s huge and just wrecks things.”
Senior outside linebacker Layton Steigelman (6-foot, 200) and senior linebacker Jaylon Deal (59, 193) secure the middle of the field. Steigelman leads the team with 21 tackles while deal has recorded 15 stops. Senior defensive back Jeremiah Jones also has 15 tackles.
“We’ve got to be able to get our running game going,” Strickland said. “We’ve got two really good backs and hopefully shifting some people around will help us up front. We’ve got to be able to control the clock.
“We can’t live just by throwing the ball. We’ve got to be able to throw it when we want to in order to keep teams off balance.”
Special teams play could be a key, according to Strickland. Jenkins returned two kicks for scores last week. The Gators have been close of breaking one in each of their first two games.
“They (Wildcats) may kick the ball away from us,” said Strickland. “They have a really good punter who’s averaging about 44 yards a kick, but we may not get an opportunity for a return.”
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