CALEDONIA — The third chapter of the Lowndes County high school football rivalry series kicks off at 7:30 tonight when Caledonia visits New Hope.
Caledonia coach Ricky Kendrick hopes the latest installment plays out a lot like the first chapter (a victory against West Lowndes) and not like the second one (a double-overtime loss to Heritage Academy).
“They know who we”re playing,” Kendrick said. “It hasn”t been any different (from games against West Lowndes or Heritage Academy). We don”t like roller coaster rides. If you get too high it is a long way to fall, so we try to keep our kids level as a coaching stay and they will follow what we”re demonstrating to a good extent.
“We understand it is a tough challenge ahead. We have told our kids we”re getting ready to play the best football team we have played on our schedule and not to look at their record and to look at their competition and who they have lost to.”
Caledonia (3-1) comes in off a 24-0 victory against East Webster. The shutout was the program”s first since a 6-0 victory against West Lowndes on Sept. 13, 2002. Coaches have come and gone and losing streaks have grown and been erased since then, and Kendrick knows his team”s fast start to the season needs to be kept in perspective.
Still, he feels his team is working extremely hard and is improving every week to prepare itself for the rigors of what is expected to be a tough Class 4A, Region 4 schedule.
“It feels good (to get a shutout), especially after giving up the points we gave up against Heritage,” Kendrick said. “Coach (Brian) White and the defensive staff came and did a good job of regrouping the kids. After giving up that many points, you kinda start scratching your head and wondering about yourself, but the kids really committed to what we were trying to do against East Webster. They really performed well. They did exactly what we asked them to do.”
Kendrick said the Confederates transitioned from a “read-style” defense at the beginning of the season to a scheme that was designed to get more penetration. He said the team has given up so many rushing yards in the first three games that it opted to go to a smaller lineup. He said the quickness of his players, even though they weren”t the biggest on the team, allowed Caledonia to force East Webster to adjust.
Kendrick said another plus is the defensive change allows the team to go deeper into its roster, which gives players like senior lineman Cole Carter a chance to see fewer snaps on defense and to be fresher on offense.
“They understood they had given up too many points and they were willing to try what we asked them to do,” Kendrick said. “That is the great thing about these kids. They don”t have any misconceptions about who they are. … These kids have really worked to get where we are. We know we have a long way to go, but the kids are up to the task. They have really taken to it.”
Kendrick said the first shutout since 2002 adds the to the momentum he feels is essential to continue the rebuilding process. He said it is essential all of the Confederates improve and stay focused each week, especially with district games coming in two weeks. Caledonia will play host to Ackerman next week before opening Class 4A, Region 4 play at Carthage.
“As I have told the kids, and as I have said before, we”re battling Caledonia still,” Kendrick said. “We some some positives, but when we watch film we see areas where we see we need a lot of work. But I think the kids are pretty level-headed about it and they understand we”re not a good football team.”
Despite that sentiment, Caledonia racked up more than 300 rushing yards against Heritage Academy. Kendrick said the multiple option of the Wing-T allows the Confederates to maximize its talent at the skill positions. So far, he said the offense has allowed Caledonia to keep many of its opponents off balance. He hopes they will be able to do the same tonight against another Lowndes County opponent.
New Hope (1-2) is coming off a 33-0 loss to Columbus. The shutout was just the second the Trojans have suffered in the past four years. Coach Michael Bradley hopes the Trojans will get senior running back Darius Petty back this week after he has missed the past two games after suffering a high ankle sprain in the season-opening victory against Louisville.
That injury is one of many New Hope is trying to overcome. Sophomore E.J. Jenkins suffered a concussion last week against Columbus and won”t play tonight. Bradley said he isn”t sure if Jenkins will be out for the rest of the season, but he said the Trojans have “several” players who will miss tonight”s game.
Jenkins moved from quarterback to wide receiver following a 45-29 loss to Noxubee County. Bradley said the move to freshman quarterback Brady Davis allowed the Trojans to move Jenkins to a position where they could capitalize on his playmaking ability.
Without Jenkins, junior running back Jameel Johnson and senior tight end Lawrence Brown will have to take on bigger roles even if Petty is back in the lineup.
Despite the shutout, Bradley was pleased with the performance of Davis against Columbus.
“He didn”t do bad. He showed his age at times, but he also did some things that were beyond his years at times,” Bradley said. “He threw several good balls, but we didn”t do a good job of running routes and catching balls and all of the other things that go with it. I was pleased. I thought he did a good job.”
Bradley also hopes his defense can shoulder a bigger role as the offense matures. Against Columbus, turnovers by the offense put the defense in bad spots because he felt that unit continued to give good effort.
Bradley knows New Hope will have to deliver its best effort tonight against what he called a “much-improved Caledonia team.” New Hope has won the last six meetings dating back to a 14-10 loss in 2004.
“They do a very good job of executing, and coach Kendrick and his staff should be commended,” Bradley said. “They are well coached, they have a really good running back, their quarterback is a good player, and they have a big lineman (Cole) Carter. They very easily could be 4-0. We have to go out there and play our game and, hopefully, it is good enough to win.
“I would be very surprised if we”re not ready to play (tonight).”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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