August 27, 2008 01:37 pm
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The Game Plan by Charles Prince
The North Jefferson News
It was a suggestion from one of our readers and it sounded like a good idea, but I knew it had the potential to upset some parents and players, but I decided to go ahead and run a feature similar to what you see in the college football preview magazines.
It’s a new yearly feature of our football preview issue, “Crunch Time,” which will rank the best units from the teams in our coverage area.
This year, the rankings are on page 3B of today’s sports section, simply because we didn’t have room in the football issue from Aug. 23.
The rankings attempt to show which units, for example, running backs, are the best or most effective at their level.
In our area, we have six high schools, from Class 2A to 6A in the Alabama High School Athletic Association and we have an 8-man football team in the Christian Football Association.
Now, when ranking the team with the best running backs, look at the listing as a list of the most effective units in their particular classification.
Keeping that in mind, look at the running back rankings. I picked the Fultondale stable of backs as the best in our area. Why? Because they dominated 2A teams last year to the tune of 3,400+ yards on the ground.
In second place of the running back rankings, is Gardendale, including senior Trey Hilliard.
The top runner at Fultondale last year was Jonathan Craig, a slashing, tackle-breaking fullback in the Wildcat’s Wing-T attack, who gained 1,243 yards.
Hilliard, on the other hand, is a two-way threat, who led the area in catches, while still rushing for more than 700 yards.
Hilliard might be the fastest running back in our area, but overall, Fultondale has more good backs at their 2A level than the Rockets do at the 6A level.
Who’s the best back between Craig and Hilliard? I’m not sure, so I didn’t pick the top runner, while ranking the sets of backs.
However, in some areas, I did pick a top performer, like the quarterback and linebacker slots, where it’s pretty clear that Gardendale senior Conner McCain is by far the best quarterback in the area heading into the regular season.
At linebacker, McCain’s teammate, Tyrone Bowie, is to me, the best linebacker in the area. Hayden’s Owen Hargett and Mortimer Jordan’s Chris Hardin are also impressive backers, but Bowie stands out as the best.
Now, if your unit, or you are personally not on the list and you want to use the rankings as motivation to prove me wrong, go have a great season on the field and prove that my picks were off. If you do, I’ll be happy for you and it might give me a head start on next year’s preseason rankings.
Quarterback:
1] Gardendale - Conner McCain enters his senior year with nearly 3,000 yards passing and could finish with more than 1,000 career rushing yards.
2] Corner - Zack Price enters his junior year after taking over as the starter for the second half of the 2007 season.
3] Mortimer Jordan & Fultondale - The Blue Devils Blake Renshaw and the Wildcats Dezmond Clopton are like a fourth running back in the backfield in their team’s Wing-T attack.
Running backs:
1] Fultondale - Four returnees from a rushing attack that gained over 3,400 yards, so the Wildcats should be able to move the ball on the ground again.
2] Gardendale - Senior Trey Hilliard is a treat to go all the way anytime he has the ball. He scored 21 times in 2007, including an 84-yard run against Mortimer Jordan.
3] Hayden & Tabernacle - The Wildcats Jason Warden is a dual threat, running or receiving. The Torches Landon Ingle and Matt Wade form the best set of rushers in the CFA.
Qffensive line:
1] Fultondale - Four of five starters return from a unit that paved the way for 3,400 yards rushing in 2007.
2] Gardendale and Mortimer Jordan - The Jones boys, Justin and Joe, anchor the Rockets line, while tackle Jack Waldrop is the Blue Devil’s bell cow up front.
Receivers:
1] Corner and Gardendale - The Jackets Kyle Belcher led Corner in catches in 2007. The Rockets senior Bobby Williams was a big play receiver as a junior.
2] Tabernacle - The Torches have CFA’s most dangerous player in Bradley White, who is a threat to score any time he gets the ball.
Defensive line:
1] Fultondale - The Wildcats front four collected 31.5 sacks in 2007. They’re all back to chase more signal callers this fall.
2] Gardendale - Senior nose Nick Pogue leads a strong defensive front.
3] Mortimer Jordan - The Blue Devils will feature an experienced all-senior D-line this fall.
Linebackers:
1] Gardendale - Senior Tyrone Bowie has 191 stops in the past two years, as he’s become the area’s top linebacker.
2] Mortimer Jordan - Seniors Chris Hardin and Jordan Sands will punish many a ball carrier this fall.
3] Hayden - Wildcat senior Owen Hargett averaged over 10 tackles a game in 2007.
Secondary:
1] Gardendale - Senior Dominic Thomas is the area’s best cover-corner.
2] Corner - Senior cornerback Cody Green led the Jackets with four interceptions in 2007.
3] Mortimer Jordan - Devils coach Greg Watts said the Jordan secondary is much improved over a year ago.
Special teams:
1] Fultondale - The punter and kickoff specialist is back, but the key to the Wildcats is the danger they present in the return game. In 2007, Fultondale had three kickoff returns and one punt return for scores, in addition, they had two 80-yard plus returns.
2] Corner - Both kickers return, including senior Katelyn Geddings, who led the area in field goals made in 2007.
3] Gardendale - Hilliard scored on two kick returns in 2007.
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