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PAGE 4B
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016
TOUGH FIGHT AHEAD
Casey Thurmond makes a catch in the Bulldoggs’ 34-21 loss to Lanier on
Oct. 7. Winder-Barrow visits Gainesville 7:30 p.m. Friday and could take
control of the third spot in GHSA Region 8-AAAAAA with a victory. (Photo by
Jessica Brown)
COMPETING HARD
Winder-Barrow senior center and long-snapper Dylan Brown, seen here in
action on Oct. 7 against Lanier, and the Bulldoggs will be looking to slow
down an explosive Red Elephant team in Gainesville on Friday. (Photo by
Jessica Brown)
Bulldoggs continued from IB
(4-3, 1-1 GHSA Region 8-AAAAAA),
who are seeking a third consecutive state
playoff appearance for the first time in
school history, would allow them to seize
control of the third spot in the region.
But the Bulldoggs will have to beat a
hungry team that is coming off a tough
25-20 loss to Dacula last week and cur
rently holds an uncharacteristic 3-4 record.
That mark “might be a little misleading
when you consider who they've played,"
Webb said of the Red Elephants (1-1
region), whose other losses have come to
Jefferson (ranked fourth in Class AAAA),
Marist (10th in AAAA) and fellow
A A AAAA team Alpharetta.
“A lot of teams would be worse off than
3-4 with the schedule they’ve played,"
Webb continued. “They’ve still got tre
mendous athletes all over the field, and
they're as explosive as ever.”
Leading the charge for Gainesville is
6-foot-4,180-pound junior quarterback DJ
Irons, who has thrown for 1,444 yards and
11 touchdowns this season.
“He's very athletic, elusive and just
hard to bring down,” Webb said. “Their
best play is probably when he scrambles
because he can make plays with his legs
by running and by buying time to find an
open receiver. It creates a lot of problems
for opposing defenses.”
The Red Elephants are loaded with wide
receivers, and Jim Barnett and Martavious
“Red" Davis, who have been Irons' favor
ite targets this season, are “difficult to
tackle in open space,” Webb said.
Defensively, the Red Elephants pres
ent a stout linebacking corps, and Webb
believes their secondary is as talented as
it’s ever been.
Free safety Tyree Robinson “might be
the best defensive back we've faced all
year long,” Webb said. “He's just a special
player. He’s got great vision, he's a great
tackier and he's a ball hawk as well.”
The Bulldoggs will look to counter with
their own productive offense, which has
had a week to get healthy.
Quarterback Brock Landis has now
passed for 1,137 yards this season with
11 touchdowns. Casey Thurmond has 17
catches for 151 yards and three scores
while Teague Moore has 11 receptions for
217 yards and three touchdowns.
Deon Williams has hauled in 17 passes
for 318 yards and three scores.
Javonne Hughes, who is still recovering
from an injury, is the team’s leading rush
er with 690 yards and four touchdowns.
Jamar Mack, who has filled in for Hughes
during the last two games, has 283 yards.
Doing well in two key areas will be cru
cial for the Bulldoggs' chances at a victory
Friday, Webb said.
“We’ve got to win the turnover battle,
and we’ve got to be able to prevent them
from making too many big plays,” he said.
“They seem to live and die by big plays,
so if we can limit those, I think we’ve got
a chance."
Chris Bridges contributed to this story.
Wildcats continued from IB
Senior linebacker Tyler
Taylor has offers from
more than a dozen FBS
programs and has report
edly narrowed his choic
es to Georgia, Alabama.
Auburn, LSU. Oklahoma
and Oklahoma State. Fel
low linebacker Juwuan
Jones is committed to
Western Kentucky, defen
sive end Michael Allen is
committed to Wake For
est, and safety C.J. Burress
is drawing interest from a
handful of FBS schools.
“It's really going to be
a challenge,” Sims said.
“They’re huge upfront
across the board, and their
linebackers are really big
and fast. It's going to be
tough to run the football
hard on them."
Running the ball has
been a challenge at times
this year for the Wildcats.
While Stephen Massillon
has rushed for 618 yards
and a pair of touchdowns,
the rest of the team has
managed only 158 yards
and less than 2 yards a
carry.
Wide receiver Ethan
Morris has been
Apalachee’s top play-
maker. racking up 625
receiving yards with four
touchdowns. Quarterback
Ryan Miller has tossed five
touchdown passes total,
but also struggled with 11
interceptions.
“I think we're playing
really hard on defense.
The defense has given us
a chance to be in games
late,” Sims said. “But for
us to capitalize on those
opportunities, we have
to have more balance on
offense and we have to find
ways to run the ball bet
ter. We have to be able to
move the ball consistently
to have a chance in this
region.”
And the Wildcats may
have to put up more points
than they've been produc
ing to be able to keep pace
with Lanier's explosive
offense.
The Longhorns hav
en't been slowed by
the absence of top run
ning back Marcko Baity,
as fill-in Tywon Reaves
has picked up the slack
by rushing for nearly 600
yards and 5.2 per touch.
Dual-threat quarterback
has 667 passing yards and
another 287 on the ground.
“It’s definitely going to
be a challenge matching
up with them,” Sims said.
“They do a good job of
spreading the ball around
putting you in a bind
defensively.
“They're going to be
deep and fast. We’ve got
to be able to take care of
the football, limit big plays
and play very well on spe
cial teams to have a shot.”
Kickoff is set for 7:30
p.m.
ENTER TO WIN
$ 50 PER WEEK
RULES OF THE GAME
• One Entry Per Person.
• Entries may be completed on the provided form and
photocopies will be accepted.
• Contest entries must be turned in by 5 P.M. on Fridays at the
Barrow News-Journal Office located at 77 East May Street,
Winder, GA. Contest entries may be mailed but must be
postmarked by Friday of each week.
• To determine tiebreaker, pick the total number of points
scored in the first game listed each week.
• For questions about contest call 770-867-6397.
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Circle Your Predictions
For This Week’s Winners
1. Winder-Barrow @ Gainesville*
2. Apalachee @ Lanier*
3. BCA @ Loganville Christian
4. Arkansas @ Auburn
5. Texas A&M @ Alabama
6. Hawaii @ Air Force
7. Memphis @ Navy
8. Oklahoma @ Texas Tech
9. Wyoming @ Nevada
10. Mississippi State @ Kentucky
tiebreaker:
Name:
Address:
Phone:
Barrow News-Journal
Barrow County News E$t. 1893 • Barrow Journal Est. 2008 Merged August 2016
Newspaper Football Contest
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And the winner is...
Dale Kennedy
of Bethlehem
for the week of October 12 th
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