CLEVELAND — Jon Burkett knows exactly what this season has meant to himself and his teammates.
“It feels amazing. We haven’t been to the postseason for two years now. It was about this summer and getting in the weight room and working hard; now it feels so good to finally get in the playoffs,” said the White County senior lineman.
The Warriors (6-2, 1-1 Region 7-AAAA) have been a revelation under first year coach Tim Cokely, storming back into the postseason after a combined four wins over the previous two seasons.
The next step includes making that type of success the expectation in Cleveland — in other words, doing exactly what West Hall football has done under coach Tony Lotti.
The Warriors will play host to Lotti’s Spartans (5-3, 1-1) on Friday in Cleveland with both teams looking to measure themselves against a playoff-bound foe and improve their postseason seedings in a brutally-tough Region 7-AAAA.
For West Hall — which clinched its fifth straight postseason bid in Lotti’s sixth season in charge — it represents yet another chance to confirm their position as one of northeast Georgia’s most consistent programs.
“I think the biggest thing that’s changed is people respecting us,” said West Hall senior lineman Josh Taylor, who has known nothing but playoff berths during his time in high school but remembers — and has heard of — a time when the Spartans went 10 straight years without a playoff spot, or even a winning season.
“It used to be you schedule West Hall you expect a big win, you expect a blowout,” Taylor continued. “But now you schedule West Hall you’re expecting to get hit; it’s going to hurt. You’re going to play a full game, 48 minutes; you’re not going to come out and walk all over us. We had to gain our respect. And I think now we’ve got our respect, definitely.”
Certainly the Warriors respect what the Spartans can do — which is why, despite their high-flying offense that averages 36.5 points and 398 yards per game, they are expecting a scrap for every yard on Friday against a defense that has forced 15 turnovers and is allowing 20.2 points per game (and just 12 against teams not named Marist or Rabun County, which have dominated just about every defense faced in 2017).
“They’re a really good team; they’re physical; they play really hard,” White County senior running back Kaleb Crane said. “They play four quarters every game they’ve played so far, and they’re a really talented team.”
The Spartans sing similar praises of the Warriors, who might employ a spread offense but are anything but finesse behind the bruising Crane.
“Kaleb Crane’s a very, very good running back,” Lotti said of Crane, who has 1,211 yards rushing and 18 TDs in eight games. “We saw him last year. And they’ve got a lot of people this year we didn’t see last year. So we are familiar with Kaleb Crane, and he is a very, very talented football player. We’re going to have to see if we can get him on the ground. If we don’t it’s going to be a long night.”
The Spartans will also be mindful of White County’s passing attack, which has begun to flourish under freshman J Ben Haynes (61 percent completion rate, 1,332 yards, 13 TDs, 4 INTs) and a number of receivers, including Ty Ulrich (22 receptions, 394 yards, 4 TDs).
Yet West Hall has also had an extra week to prep for the task, taking last Friday’s bye to get healthy and focus on the fundamentals.
“The bye week’s nice this time of the year because maybe you can heal up a little bit, maybe go a little bit easier on some people, get them healthy — and then just total focus back on fundamentals,” Lotti said. “This game can be complicated, people make it that way, but it’s still blocking and tackling, those things. And it’s going to be very important in this game for us to be good tacklers.”
Players like outside linebacker Austin Sinclair (66 tackles) and middle linebacker Cory Davis (62 tackles) have done that all season. And Davis believes their play can be the key spark on Friday.
“We actually went and scouted the Chestatee game (last week that White County won 56-27) — they play hard,” Davis said. “We do too as well, so we’ll see; it’ll be a gritty game. I think the defense will step up. Then I feel like maybe the offense can feed off the defense, so we’ll see how that goes.”
The Spartans have been just as hard-nosed on offense so far, utilizing sophomore quarterback Michael Thompson’s size and legs to great effect — he leads the team in rushing (495 yards rushing, 5 TDs), though the Spartans hope to make more of their passing game as the first-year starter grows in his confidence.
“He’s seeing the importance of getting reps in practice throughout the week and making sure they’re quality reps. And then I think too he’s starting to settle in a little bit, letting the game come to him so to speak,” Lotti said of Thompson, who has 377 yards passing, 3 TDs and 3 INTs. “A lot of that just comes with experience. He’s got talent, no doubt. And we’re trying to stay as balanced as we can.”
Cameron Shirley leads all West Hall receivers with 12 receptions for 182 yards and a TD, while Cooper Adams has added 379 yards rushing and a score.
“Their quarterback’s really a good player, a big guy, tough to tackle, tough to get on the ground, underclassman, kind of like our quarterback. Defensively they’re multiple; they play well. They’re the biggest team probably we’ll play against as far as size goes. And they have really a solid kicking game, so I think all the way around they’re really a good program,” Cokely said of the Spartans. “Coach Lotti has done a good job of getting them back to where they have been so I see a lot of similarities. Our team really feels blessed to be in this position, but we know what they’re like and we’re trying to get ready for them.”
From what they’ve shown already this season. You can bet both teams will be ready for this opportunity.
“I think this game is probably one of our most important of the whole year. It’s kind of a statement game for us. It’s a big, big game,” Taylor said.
“It’s very important. Because now, since we are in, now we’ve got to keep on getting it,” Burkett said. “We’ve just got to keep on winning and carry on that grind we have right now.”
GAME of the WEEK:
WEST HALL at WHITE COUNTY
- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
- WHERE: Warrior Stadium, Cleveland
- RADIO: WDUN AM 550
- WEST HALL: 5-3, 1-1 Region 7-AAAA — Spartans had a bye last week after 41-6 loss to No. 3 Marist
- WHITE: 6-2, 1-1 Region 7-AAAA — Warriors defeated Chestatee 56-27
- NOTABLE: Both teams have clinched playoff spot, now battling for seeding
