GAINESVILLE - There are a lot of story lines in this one as East Hall and West Hall - not one of the more traditional Hall County rivalries - meet Friday night at Valhalla in a critical Region 7-AAA game for both teams.
But for East Hall coach Tim Marchman, who is facing his old team for the rest time after moving across county in the off-season, nothing is more important than building on last week's win.
"Right now we're just to trying improve and win some games. That's all I care about right now," Marchman said. "That other stuff is just something for you guys to talk about."
Maybe so. But Marchman finally admitted that it would be a little strange once he gets on the field and sees the familiar blue and silver of the Spartans on the other side of the field.
"To say I didn't miss a lot of the players and people over at West Hall would be wrong because I do, and I have," he said. "But we've got a lot of work to do here and that's where I'm focusing my attention."
West Hall coach Ken Aldridge, who replaced Marchman, said they're just trying not to get caught up in the emotions of the event.
"East Hall is a good football team and we can't afford to get distracted," he said. "If we want to get to where we want to go postseason-wise, this is a game we need to win. I'm sure coach Marchman will have his guys ready to play."
The Vikings (2-2, 2-2) beat Gilmer County 32-14 last week and were glad to see anyone other than Gainesville or North Hall. The Vikings were torched for 112 points against their two Hall County rivals.
"It was important that we got a win last Friday. You doubt yourself a little when you get beat like we did (in those two games) so beating Gilmer was a big step for our program," Marchman said. "We finally put everything together and if not for a few mistakes, we could've shut them out."
The task will be a daunting one for East Hall against the Spartans (3-2, 3-2) who feature perhaps the best single player in the county in Devin Snapp. Quarterback Mike Burgamy has been almost as dangerous.
The Spartans hammered White County County last week, 42-6. Snapp scored twice and Burgamy ran for one score and threw for another.
Aldridge said Snapp, who missed one game because of a knee injury, has been spectacular since his return. He has more than 400 yards rushing and half a dozen touchdowns since coming back. Burgamy was a one-man wrecking crew against Flowery Branch with more than 300 yards of offense alone.
"He's been running hard and seems to have the speed he had before he got hurt. We just try to get the ball to him as much as possible," Aldridge said. "And Mike has done a great job of running the offense. It gives us a good one-two punch."
Marchman knows about Snapp better than anyone. And he says he's not sure how to stop him.
"I haven't seen anybody stop him, either now or when I was there - he's that good," Marchman said. "We just have to play our spots and make good, strong tackles and try to hem him up. That's all you can try and do."
The usually ground-oriented Vikings have taken a new approach on offense behind quarterback Lee Coleman. The sophomore, who took over for senior Jamie Evans, who went down against Gainesville with a knee injury, tossed three TD passes last week against Gilmer and is also a running threat.
"How (Lee) goes is how our offense goes right now," Marchman said. "He's just now beginning to get comfortable back there and is improving each week."
Marquez Jackson has been the beneficiary with two TD catches last week. He has at least one TD catch in the last three games. Coleman has tossed at one least TD pass in all four games this year.
"The passing game is really working right now so we're going with it," Marchman said.
But Aldridge said his defense is built to be able to handle a good passing attack and feels good about ending Coleman and Jackson's streaks.
"We've already got five linebackers and three guys in the backfield, so that allows us to adjust to different formations and to put a lot of pressure on the quarterback," Aldridge said. "East Hall is playing well, but I think we match up good against their offense."
Respect - and wins - are what Aldridge and the Spartans are craving right now.
"Some people don't think we're as good as a 3-2 team but I think we're better than that," he said. "Both of our losses are by one point so we could easily be 5-0. But wins are what people look at and that's what we need right now."
Sunday
December 22nd, 2024
6:28PM
