PrepsNow Playbook: Pressure turns up as season winds down

This time of year, with just four weeks left in the high school football season left, the pressure is on to reach the playoffs. Whether or not you put that pressure on your team or not is up to you.

Green Hope coach Kwame Dixon decided not to do so entering his team’s game with Panther Creek. Green Hope, which won 28-27, had enough to think about with the school’s biggest rival back in town after last year’s season-ending playoff loss to the Catamounts.

“I didn’t tell my team before the game, but this was a must-win,” Green Hope football coach Kwame Dixon.

As playoff projections start to roll out in the coming weeks, it’ll be harder for coaches to keep their players in the dark about just how important each game is. But the underlying point remains: just win, and the rest take care of itself.

Word of God relishes big win

With moments to go Friday night, Word of God players doused two coaches with water buckets and declared, “David beat Goliath!” The tiny Holy Rams had reason to celebrate having dispatched NCHSAA 4A Athens Drive 64-44.

Despite having a roster half the size of the Jaguars – and a school enrollment 20 times smaller – Word of God controlled the game from start to finish, building a 20-0 lead in the first quarter and never looking back.

“There’s athletes on both sides. When we come over here, we don’t expect to lose. It’s the will of these young men when they got on the field,” said Word of God coach Eric Clemmons.

Chris Gilliard ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns in the win as the Holy Rams forced six Athens Drive turnovers including five interceptions. Word of God also did not attempt an extra point, instead converting 5 of 9 two-point conversions.

The Starting 11: players of the week

Starting 11 appearances in parentheses

Abdul Adams, Hillside: Ran 20 times for 213 yards and two touchdowns.

Melvin Briggs, St. David’s (2): Ran 29 times for 362 yards and seven TDs.

Tucker Burkinshaw, Green Hope (2): Completed 23 of 37 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns with just one interception.

Earl Green, South Granville (1): Ran 26 times for 177 yards and a score, also caught a 20-yard TD pass.

Jalen Greene, Southern Durham (3): Completed 24 of 30 passes for 315 yards and four touchdowns (one interception) while also running for 105 yards one seven carries.

Dylan Harris, Ravenscroft (1): Completed 8 of 16 passes for 228 yards and four TDs with no interceptions.

Reid Herring, Millbrook (1): Completed 12 of 18 passes for 250 yards and five TDs with no interceptions.

Kyle Jones, Northwood (1): Threw for 347 yards and five touchdowns (one interception) on 12 of 21 passing.

Josh Peacock, Word of God (1): Caught four passes for 119 yards and two TDs while adding an 80-yard interception return for score.

Larry Rountree III, Millbrook (3): Ran 32 times for 215 yards and a score.

Jheri Walton, Word of God (1): Completed 10 of 20 throws for 261 yards and four touchdowns while running in another score.

3-point stance: top defenses

Fuquay-Varina: Held Apex to six points – matched by Bengals linebacker Austin Pluckhorn on his fumble recovery for touchdown, and 98 yards of offense.

Orange: Shut out its second straight opponent and held Northern Vance to just 78 yards total.

West Johnston: Limited Harnett Central to no points and 87 yards of offense.

Quick hits

▪ Who needs long, methodical drives? Panther Creek and Heritage each scored on the first play from scrimmage in their respective Friday night games.

▪ The Greater Neuse River 4A takes its conference-wide bye week on Friday, but two games – Garner at East Wake and Knightdale at Rolesville – will play Thursday as make-up games from earlier this year.

▪ The N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association has broken up the 8-man playoffs into a four-team bracket for 2A schools and one for 1A schools. There are just five 2A schools, where 7-0 St. David’s leads the standings, that play the sport and six in 1A, where 6-1 Southampton Academy (Va.) leads.

▪ In seven games, Northwood’s Montel Goods (1,107 yards rushing) has already topped his career total of 1,029. “I worked hard in the offseason to improve my strength, speed and footwork. I was confident I could do this,” Goods said.

Postcard

Riverside’s Linny Wrenn stadium: It’s getting closer to Halloween, so why not go where the band is always decked out in pirate attire? This Friday, make the trip to Riverside’s Linny Wrenn Stadium, where a cannon booms on the sideline after every score and the chant is “Roll Pirates Roll.” Make sure to buy a fried fish sandwich too. The stadium bears the name of the school’s former athletics director, football and track and field coach who died in June 2003 of a heart attack. Wrenn, who was legally blind, had just led the Pirates to the PAC-6 4A title the year before.

This story was originally published October 12, 2015 at 3:58 PM with the headline "PrepsNow Playbook: Pressure turns up as season winds down."