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Published Thursday, October 09, 2008 in Sports
Birds of a feather
The Times-Herald
Their varsity football programs are each in their infancy, but both Rob Kellogg and Larry Harrison are fluent in "coach-speak."
Maybe that's on purpose this week, considering neither head coach in tonight's GISA Region 4-AA game between Arlington Christian and The Heritage School wants their words to point in the wrong direction -- or locker room.
Especially since tonight's scoreboard operator in Fairburn expects to be in a constant flux.
"I think there will be a lot of points scored," said Kellogg who leads Arlington's second-year varsity program into tonight's important 4-AA home matchup with Harrison's Hawks, who are just in their third year of football. "It's going to be hard to stop them. Nobody's seemed to slow them down so far."
Heritage's double-wing offense has put up its share of numbers since Harrison arrived with his run-oriented attack in late July.
Last week's 49-20 win over Griffin Christian in each team's 4-AA opener followed a pattern in which the Hawks offense has scored 25 or more points in each of its first six games this year. In a 4-2 start, capped by three consecutive victories, Heritage is averaging 41.2 points per game.
That number could take a bit of a hit this week, knowing that senior Christopher Rich's knee injury suffered in last week's homecoming win is serious enough to keep the senior on the sidelines for the rest of the season. Rich opened the season with back-to-back 200-yard rushing games and led the team with 830 yards before the injury.
"I can't imagine him being back this season," said Harrison of Rich.
Scoring may be the least of Harrison's worries against an equally lethal Eagles offense that went toe-to-toe with defending Class A state champion Flint River before falling 54-28 to open its region schedule.
Heritage's head coach has been even more focused on not only how to stop Arlington's spread offense, but how his team can avoid constant problems with turnovers over the past few games.
"There's no way we can win if we keep putting the ball on the ground, especially against them," said Harrison. "The boy that throws the ball is a good a pass chucker as I've ever seen."
That boy, Eagle quarterback Kase Cook, has already thrown for 1,442 yards and 15 touchdowns through Arlington's 4-1 start. Harrison didn't need to see Cook on film, since both Arlington and Heritage scrimmaged during the preseason, with the Eagles getting the better of the two teams during the first meeting.
"And they look a lot better than they did then," said Harrison. "They've got good athletes in every position. They're very capable of the big play. They can score in 8 seconds on you."
Rich's absence defensively tonight in the secondary is as much a concern, with Arlington expected to use mostly four-receiver sets.
"Losing Chris in the secondary back there for us is a huge loss," said Harrison. "He's been one of our best defenders. The way they spread you out, it's going to be hard for us to matchup with them."
With Rich out, Heritage's remaining three wingbacks -- Brent Veal and newcomers Jack Duffey and Kyle Kimsey -- along with fullback Stuart Bready will equally have to carry the load. Harrison would like nothing better tonight in Fairburn, than to keep the ball as much as possible through 48 minutes.
"The key will definitely be ball control," said Harrison, briefly pausing before adding emphatically, "and no turnovers."
Kellogg admits that with 20 players subbing in and out defensively, depth isn't as much a concern for his Eagle team. Arlington's unit is led by linebackers Justin Cunningham, Tim Frazier and Ethan Peppin.
In last week's loss to Flint River, Arlington trailed only 33-28 at halftime and had first-and-goal to open the second half before the team fumbled the ball and the game away.
"We played pretty well, but Flint River was too physical for us," said Kellogg. "We hadn't played anyone of that level yet. So I knew that was a concern."
Kellogg's other trouble spot has been his team's running game. Cook leads the team with 270 yards rushing and six touchdowns, but the hope is that a trio of running backs -- Josh Cunningham, Peppin and Charod Strickland -- will begin to eat up yardage to open up the spread attack even further.
Combined, the backs have 205 yards rushing and four touchdowns., with Strickland slowly coming back to full strength over the past two games following an injury.
Both teams have played one common opponent, Strong Rock. Heritage lost to Strong Rock 34-26 in the Hawks season opener. A week later, Arlington Christian held off the Patriots 50-44 on the road.
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