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No. 1 comes calling
Published November 20, 2009
After eight weeks of football, North Jackson's season was teetering on the brink.
A third loss in four games had the Chiefs at 5-3 and searching for ways to get out of a confidence-shaking slump.
Fast forward a month, and North Jackson is one of just eight teams left playing in the Class 4A state playoffs.
North Jackson (9-3) followed a 14-7 loss at Plainview with convincing wins over Fairview and Etowah to end the regular season. The Chiefs then went on the road and rolled past No. 10-ranked Brooks 36-19 in the opening round of the playoffs. North Jackson avenged a regular season loss to No. 8 Guntersville with a 16-14 second round win last Friday.
North Jackson coach Shawn Peek said neither the players nor the coaches hit the panic button during the slump.
"We knew we were a very capable football team," Peek said. "We told our guys one play here and one play there and we're still rolling. It's not like folks were beating our brains out. As coaches we never lost confidence in our guys. Sometimes when a team struggles, coaches change a bunch of things. We weren't going to change anything. We just had to get better at the things we’re doing."
Peek said the players showed a lot of character in rebounding from the slump. He also lauded the leadership shown by the team's seniors.
"We’ve got great senior leadership," Peek said. "They just kept coming to work. We kept preaching to these guys that we could still make some noise in the playoffs."
North Jackson tries to continue its postseason run when it hosts the No. 1-ranked Cherokee County Warriors (12-0) tonight at 7 p.m. at R.D. Hicks Stadium in Stevenson.
It's the North Jackson's first quarterfinal appearance since the 2005 season. The winner plays the Deshler-Midfield winner in the 4A semifinals next Friday. North Jackson would host a semifinal game if it advances.
Tonight's meeting is a matchup of future Class 4A Region 7 opponents. It's also the eighth all-time meeting between the schools but the first since 1995, which produced a 25-8 Chiefs' win. North Jackson leads the series 7-1, with one of the wins coming in the 1993 state playoffs. The Warriors' lone win in the series was a 20-19 decision in 1991.
Cherokee County brings an experienced and talented team to Stevenson. The Warriors returned most of their key players from a team that lost to UMS-Wright in last year's 4A state championship game. They stormed through the regular season unbeaten before posting playoff wins of 51-13 over Haleyville and 49-14 over Fayette County.
"They've got some really gifted players," Peek said. "They've got a lot of weapons to throw at you."
Dual-threat Quarterback Coty Blanchard leads a Cherokee County spread offense that averages 44.6 points per game.
Blanchard, who recently decommitted from a baseball offer to Mississippi State to entertain football offers, has thrown for 2,171 yards and 28 touchdowns on 151-of-214 passing. He's also second on the team in rushing with 850 yards and 14 touchdowns on 104 carries.
"I knew he was a good passer, but after watching the film, you see he's an impressive runner," Peek said of Blanchard. "Everybody on film is missing tackles on him. That worries you."
Blanchard has plenty of offensive weapons around him.
D.J. Fife has 854 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 101 carries while Clemson commitment Desmond Brown has 472 rushing yards and three scores on 79 carries. Both are a threat in the passing game, as Fife has 27 catches for 412 yards and four TDs and Brown has 19 receptions for 297 yards and six scores.
Gabriel Chambers is Blanchard's main target, having caught 53 passes from 812 yards and 11 TDs. Colin Perry has 336 receiving yards and four scores on 30 catches, while Josh West has 297 yards and three TDs.
"They're offense has been putting games away early," Peek said. "Last week (against Fayette County) it was 35-6 with eight minutes left in second quarter. They're putting people away before everybody gets settled in. We've got to limit big plays and we have got to get off the field on third down."
North Jackson counters with a defense allowing 17.5 points per game. The Chiefs' leading tacklers are senior linebackers Zach Hammontree (117), Robbie Padgett and Spencer Wildman (92) and senior defensive linemen Mark Kelly (76) and Jonathan Davis (68). Kelly leads the team with six quarterback sacks and four fumble recoveries. Denzel Bynum has a team-best four interceptions while Brandon Smith has three and Austin Blevins and Kahne Cooper have two apiece.
Cherokee County's defense hasn't gotten the attention that its offense has but has been steady nonetheless, allowing just 12.1 points per game.
Linebacker Caleb Crane, who finished second to former North Jackson linebacker Tana Patrick in the ASWA Class 4A Lineman of the Year voting last season, leads the Warriors' defense with 129 tackles. Other key defenders for Cherokee County are Brett Burgess (94 tackles and six interceptions), Cole Sterling (86 tackles) and Patrick Lowe (75 tackles).
"They're a real physical defense," Peek said. "They're going to blitz and bring a lot of pressure at you."
The Warriors defense will face a North Jackson offense that's averaging 39.8 points per game.
Senior QB Will Richard has thrown for 2,635 yards and 33 touchdowns on 175-of-267 passing. Montel Hale has 64 catches for 1,174 yards and 19 touchdowns, while Jovani Taylor has 56 catches for 885 yards and 13 scores. Hale is also the team's leading rusher with 614 yards and 11 TDs on 126 carries. Cord Wordlaw has carried 64 times for rushed for 355 yards and five scores.
Peek said the Chiefs' offense needs to be efficient on every possession.
"We don't have to score every time," Peek said, "but we can't go out there, snap it three times and punt. We've got to win the turnover battle and we've got to take advantage of (scoring opportunities)."
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