Bay, PSJ, Rutherford aim for hot starts to season
Three teams that were defeated in glorified scrimmages last week have contrasting game faces entering their season openers on Friday night.
Class 3A Bay is focusing on correctable issues on both lines while recovering from a 14-12 defeat to 1A Vernon. The Tornadoes engage another 1A school in Port St. Joe, which was outscored 48-7 in two halves of a jamboree.
The Tiger Sharks host at 6:30 CDT Friday. Rutherford, edged 14-10 by what’s expected to be a stout Fort Walton Beach team, travels to Escambia for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Port St. Joe and head coach Vern Barth are looking to survive the first month of the season against larger-classification schools while freshmen and sophomores gain maturity.
Conversely, Rutherford all but received a springboard into its first game against an opponent that outmuscled the Rams to begin 2009.
“It’s pretty obvious we’ve got much more work to do,” Bay coach Frank Sorrells said. “We’ve adjusted our offense some, made a couple of personnel changes on both sides.
“The big thing is between the tackles on defense. And we’ve got two guys hurt and won’t play.”
Vernon gouged the Tornadoes with fullback J.J. Roache running behind Joshua Wilson, Jaquarious Leverette and Casey Boukard.
The Yellow Jackets’ scoring drives were 35 yards or less and followed Bay mistakes. The first was a high snap on fourth down that resulted in a 23-yard loss, the second a fumbled punt return.
Bay’s offense was plagued by a recurring nemesis, the lack of a running game. Senior quarterback Kevin Husum completed 11 of 21 attempts for 173 yards, and Deonte Dunklin and Terrance Lowder each caught five passes.
“I thought we caught the ball pretty well,” Sorrells said.
He said the key to Port St. Joe is accounting for Calvin Pryor on every snap, whether he’s running, catching, throwing or returning. Barth is looking to Pryor and players such as running back Quincy Welch, quarterback Trevor Lang and linebacker Chris Foxworth to bring younger players along.
He didn’t foresee many personnel changes.
“We really don’t have much to make changes with,” Barth said.
Rutherford was humbled 46-7 by Escambia last September, and first-year coach Jeff Rolson is trying to harness enthusiasm from last week to produce a new beginning.
He witnessed 4A Escambia hold defending 3A state champ Pensacola to a 16-14 decision last Friday.
“Very physical,” Rolson said. “They’ve got a bunch of blue-collar kids on defense that play hard, and on offense they like to run the football, then take some shots downfield.”
Rolson was happy with the effort by the Rams against FWB. Sophomore quarterback Dondrell Harris got his first game experience against a veteran defense, and Rutherford’s kicking game passed an early test with sophomore Eric Riley handling the duties.
Running back Dondrayas Harris again may sit out with a shoulder injury, but junior running back J.T. Mackall could be available.
Rolson expects the Gators to challenge the Rams’ manhood from the opening kickoff.
“No question, they’ll run the football until we stop it,” he said. “Then they’ll pull it out. We’ve got to be disciplined.”
Early opener: The 2010 season for area schools gets an early start Thursday when Class 2B Marianna meets 1B Cottondale. Game time is 7 p.m. in Cottondale.
