Trojans not taking Bobcats lightly

MURRAYVILLE - In two-plus years at North Hall, Bob Christmas has been looking for that near-perfect game.

He finally got it last week in a stunning 47-0 thumping of Johnson at The Brickyard.

"We played well in all phases of the game. I don't think we're 47 points better than Johnson. They didn't play their best but I think that was the first time we've put four quarters with a lot of intensity together since I've been here," Christmas said. "It was nice to see."

The going should be a little easier this week actually as the Trojans (5-1, 5-1 in Region 7-AAA) play host to Gilmer County.

But the Bobcats (3-3, 3-3) had won three of four games before getting whipped 49-7 by No. 2 Gainesville last week.

"Everybody's looked bad against Gainesville. (Gilmer's) a much-improved team. They had one bad game against East Hall and except for that they've played everyone tough. We can't take anything for granted at this time of the year," Christmas said.

The Trojans got a breakout game from T.J. Pitts last week, who ran for over 220 yards and scored three touchdowns against Johnson. The lone downside was that Michael Christmas suffered his second concussion in three weeks is likely to miss the rest of the season. He will be evaluated later in the week.

But Christmas said the offensive line play of Andrew Zimmerman, Jason Kuchler, Brad Sullivan, Richie Fite and Jake McIntire has been the key to their ground attack all season.

"Those guys are starting to jell and have been blowing people off the line," he said. "We're not as big as last year but they will be in time plus they're understanding how to play together more each game. They'll be the key to how far we can go."

Christmas said their main focus right now is making sure they don't have any letdowns as they head down the stretch toward what is sure to be a playoff berth.

"We have a chance to host a playoff game and that's one of our goals. But we won't be able to do that if we don't take care of business every week. That means taking it one week at a time. So far, we've been able to do that," Christmas said.