Warriors hope to shake off bad luck

CLEVELAND - The White County football team can't seem to catch a break.

The Warriors, who play host to Pickens County Friday night in Region 7-AAA action, got an uplifting surprise last week when sophomore move-in Ryan Locklear took over at quarterback and ignited what had been a sluggish offense.

But then, freshman running back G.J. Cheek, who had 45 yards on four carries against West Hall in the first quarter last week, injured his ribs, was out the rest of the game and now is doubtful for Friday's game.

It's enough to make coach Mark Wilson wonder who's behind the conspiracy.

"It's frustrating because G.J. was really running the ball well and helping open up the offense. We didn't know what Ryan could do, so to see him perform like he did, things looked like they were coming around in a hurry. Then, G.J. got hurt and West Hall just concentrated on our passing attack and we were back to not being able to move it much," Wilson said.

The QB play is particularly important to the Warriors, who employ a run-and-shoot type offense with three and sometimes four receiver sets.

Wilson said the aren't ready to change anything yet.

"I think once we get the kids in the kind of shape they should be in and with some experience this is going to to be a good, good offensive team," Wilson said.

This week doesn't get any easier for the Warriors (0-4, 0-4) as Pickens (1-3, 1-3) brings in another bruising ground attack similar to West Hall, which piled up over 300 yards on the ground.

"Pickens is big, strong and just likes to run over you," Wilson said. "It's going to be another tough challenge for our defense."

Wilson, however, said his young team is ready to go and is not giving up.

"They beat the coaches to the practice field (Monday) and that makes you feel good as a coach," he said. "These kids want to get better and are working hard. It takes a while to see the results of weight training and things like that, but getting people to want to do it is half the battle."

A win would also help.

"Getting a win would be a big thing for our program right now. We need one but we're going to have to work hard to get it. But I think it's only a matter of time," he said.