Veterans looks to improve postseason footing
A victory over Harris County in Friday night’s GHSA Region 1-5A matchup at Freedom Field won’t officially clinch a playoff berth for Veterans, but it will put the Warhawks on the cusp of advancing to the postseason.
“If we win, we put ourselves in really good position in regards to the playoffs,” Veterans head coach David Bruce said of the game, set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. “The kids understand what’s at stake, and they’re prepared to go. We’re not trying to overhype it or make it bigger than it is, but the kids know that we need to win this game. This is a very important game.”
Winners of three of their past four contests, the Warhawks (4-4, 1-1 region) placed themselves in this position with a 33-28 triumph over Thomas County Central last week in a back-and-forth affair.
Faced with starting a four-game region schedule at 0-2, Veterans rallied against a Yellow Jackets team that many perceived to be the favorite before region play began.
“We just kept playing and kept responding every time,” Bruce said. “We scored and they’d score, we scored and they’d score. Our kids are not going to give up. They aren’t quitters. They’re going to keep fighting and scrapping, and I’m proud of them. Our kids play hard, and that’s one thing I appreciate about them. They always play hard, and they always give great effort.”
Harris County (3-4, 0-1) enters Friday night’s tilt in the same unenviable position as the Warhawks were tasked with a week ago. The Tigers were dominated at home 31-3 by Warner Robins in their region opener and desperately need a victory to remain in solid playoff contention.
Senior quarterback Jordan Griffin leads an offense that has produced some big plays for first-year head coach Zac Howard. Howard took over the Harris County program in the offseason after serving 11 years as an assistant coach and nine seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Tigers.
“Offensively they have some explosive players,” Bruce said. “They’ll hit you for the big play and that’s got me worried, but if we play good, hard-nosed football, then I think we’ll be OK. They’re good on both sides of the ball, and they’re solid in the kicking game. They’re not going to beat themselves.”
To attest to the explosive nature of the Harris County attack, Bruce said he struggled to find goal-line tape of the Tigers’ offense to scout ahead of the matchup.
This story was originally published October 20, 2016 at 6:44 PM with the headline "Veterans looks to improve postseason footing."