Things are quickly turning serious for the Pickens County High School football team.
It has won two postseason playoff games. Now, the community is stoked, as is the team, as Pickens County prepares to play host to defending Class 1A state champion Sweet Water at 7 tonight in an Alabama High School Activities Association Class 1A third-round playoff game at Sweet Water.
“Sweet Water has a great tradition,” Pickens County first-year defensive coordinator Nick Roberson said. “They have won five of the last six state championships. They run the wing-T and will line up and try to run it down your throats.
“We will have to stop the run to have any chance to be successful in this game.”
Pickens County (11-1) is coming off a 14-12 road win at Brantley. The Tornadoes held the Bulldogs to 98 rushing yards and stopped a key two-point conversion in the final minutes.
“We were excited about a chance to play Brantley,” Pickens County senior linebacker Nick Stewart said. “They hadn’t lost on their home field in a while, so we felt like we had a point to prove. Now this game is even bigger because we are trying to win it all.
“Sweet Water is the defending champs, so we have to go in there respecting them. At the same time, you can’t be intimated. We have to go in there and play hard. They have a good coaching staff and good players but we have to go in there and play our ball.”
The Tornadoes are on a five-game win streak. While Pickens County has clicked all season on offense, it has made tremendous strides on the defense. Pickens County has allowed 41 points and posted two shutouts in its win streak.
“The kids are playing together and really jelling at the right time,” Roberson said. “On defense, it starts with the senior leadership of Nick Stewart and Lajuan Doss. Nick is a linebacker and has played well on the defensive line. He does a great job of keeping our front seven lined up. Lajuan handles all of adjustments.
“It is a good group and they really trust one another. This is my first year, so it took a little time for everybody to get comfortable with one another. The effort has always been there. Now, we are getting better at the fundamentals.”
Stewart credits the knowledge and support of Roberson and head coach Patrick Plott as being the keys for helping supplement the offseason work put in by the defense.
“We have some new coaches and we have more discipline,” Stewart said. “Our new defensive coordinator has really made a difference. This is a hard-working group. They want it as bad as I do, and I really want it since I am senior. I think we can do it (win a state championship).”
For Pickens County, defensive starters for tonight include Warren Bett and De’Marko Hall at cornerbacks; Doss at free safety; Devonte Simon at free safety; Kiloe Cole, Raheem Curry and Jarvoris McCoy at linebackers; William Stewart and Terrien Steele at defensive tackles and Stewart and Justin Barton at defensive ends.
Offensive starters include Bett, Hall, Doss and Bobby Bradford at wide receivers; Jamarcus Brown at running back; Devonte Simon at quarterback and Steele, Chris Hill, Stewart, Taylor McDaniel and Zev Finch on the line.
Dalton Perkins is the place-kicker, while Cole is the punter.
“We are excited about playing the defending state champions,” Plott said. “The guys have been working hard since the summer. They were coming in at 6 every morning and working out and getting ready. The coaching staff is staying late at nights.
“The community has followed us everywhere we have been. This has been an exciting time for our program.”
Sweet Water (9-3) has bounced back from a 2-3 by posting seven straight victories. It has found a second gear in the postseason, defeating Keith (48-26) and Winterboro (49-0).
Against Winterboro, Sweet Water broke open a scoreless game with four second-quarter touchdowns. Three fourth-quarter touchdowns closed out the victory.
Pickens County will now have to slow down that high-powered offense if the Tornadoes are to face Maplesville or Linden next week for the North Half championship. While the challenge is tall, it is one Pickens County has been preparing for all season.
“Coming into the season we thought we were going to have a great football team,” Plott said. “Athlete wise, we were going to be great. We just had to take care of the little things. The discipline part of it was important. The players have worked and taken care of the little things.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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