It was almost like listening to Vince Dooley argue with himself.
North Hall coach Sean Pender and Cherokee Bluff coach Tommy Jones staged their own mutual admiration society this week when discussing their huge Region 8-4A showdown on Friday at Yonah Field.
Here are the Cliff Notes version:
“They are a very good football team,” Pender said on the scouting report on the Bears. “Bluff’s rough start had a lot to do with the way their schedule lined up. You can watch them getting better every single week.
“If not for two bobbled snaps, they're undefeated in the region just like us. This is going to be a huge challenge for us going down there.”
“North Hall has an excellent football team. We have a lot of respect for Coach Pender and his staff and in what they're doing up there,” Jones said when discussing the Trojans’ hot start. “They've got the quarterback in Tanner Marsh, who obviously can make all the throws. And he has great escapability and they've got some designed runs for him.
“Defensively, they're able to change the pace of play that they play at. So we know we've got some big challenges on both sides of the ball in this one.”
The Trojans (4-0, 2-0 Region 8-4A) come in riding high on an explosive offense and an ever-improving defense. The Bears (1-3, 1-1 Region 8-4A) are coming off their first win of the season and are just an overtime loss to Madison County from being unbeaten in region play as well.
Neither coach wanted to discuss where a win would land them after this week, both insisting there are just too many games left to start looking at that. However, the ramifications for both, and the region as a whole, are huge already.
A win puts the Trojans atop the region standings, keeping pace with No. 2-ranked North Oconee, with the tiebreaker edge over the Bears and Walnut Grove, a playoff team from a year ago. A Bluff win would put them back among the top-tier teams in the region with a huge tiebreaker edge over the Trojans. Both teams finished 3-5 in the region last year and missed out on the playoffs by one game.
Last year, a struggling North Hall team at the time knocked off Bluff at The Brickyard. It turned out to be a costly loss for the Bears. The similarities this year were not lost on Pender.
“We weren't expected to win that game (last year) so I gotta warn our kids about that because right now, the tides have turned,” Pender said. “It’s flipped, where we've had the successful beginning part of the year, and they have struggled a bit. But they’re playing very well right now. It’s going to be our biggest challenge so far, no doubt.”
Both coaches also downplayed any particular matchup as key. But looking at the numbers, it’s hard to ignore the North Hall offense, which is tied for 7th in points scored (166) but is 3rd in scoring average in Class 4A (41.5 points/game). They have scored 40 or more in three of their first four games.
Marsh, a senior, is fourth in Class 4A in passing, completing 73 percent of his passes for 828 yards, 11 TD, and just 1 INT on the season. He has plenty of featured weapons like senior receiver Ryals Puryear, who is 2nd in 4A with 373 yards and 4 TD on 30 receptions. Senior running back Tate Ruth has 399 yards and 5 TD rushing for the Trojans.
The Bears defense pitched its first shutout since 2021 last week (48-0 over Chestatee) and held a punishing Madison County ground attack to more than 100 yards below its season average in a gut-wrenching 27-26 loss two weeks ago. They look on the verge of resembling the 2021 unit that allowed just 11.6 points/game.
“I do feel like we’re getting better each week on that side of the ball,” Jones said about his defense. “Obviously, our defense is going to need to play really well this week, and special teams as well. I mean, I think all three phases need to work together for us to be successful.
“North Hall is well coached. They've got good players (on offense). What they do schematically is a challenge to prepare for. We've got our work cut out for us for sure.”
The key unit on the field may be the North Hall defense, however. The past three games they have allowed just 27 points. But if not for two touchdowns called back in their opener against White County, they would have surrendered at least 49 to an explosive Warriors offense.
“We're starting to grasp the concepts of what we're trying to do and we are getting better every week,” Pender said about his defense. "It’s still a work in progress. But what you're seeing out there now is a bunch of players coming together and starting to gel.”
Will we see an offensive explosion from both teams or will it resemble last year’s 14-12 defensive slugfest? It could go either way. But both coaches feel it will take the entire 48 minutes to decide it.
“I think this game is going to go all the way to the wire,” Pender said. “I can't tell you whether it's going to be an 8-7 ballgame or it's going to be like 49-42, I have no idea. We're going to go out and give them our best shot, and and they're going to be doing the same to us.”
“What kind of flow that the game dictates, those things are always hard to predict,” Jones said. “Football has become a game of adjustments. Obviously, we want to be able to run the football, we know that's important to our offense, it helps us stay ahead of the chains, it sets up play action passes and so forth. But at the same time, if you aren't able to adjust and take what the defense is giving you, it's going to be a long night.
“We're going to have to be prepared to be balanced and be able to run and throw it and do whatever it takes to be successful. Winning football games is very hard. There's no secret formula. We're just looking forward to being able to get out there and compete on Friday night.”
