Bragging rights on line in Central, Rutland game
Friday night’s game will be a good litmus test for two Macon teams hoping to take the next step. Central High will travel to Rutland High for a regional and intra-city battle. One team is hoping to propel itself into the playoff picture, the other team is hoping to chase a state title, and bragging rights are always on the line.
Rutland entered this season looking to improve on its 10-12 record from a year ago. Despite a below .500 record in 2016-17, the Hurricanes were a tough out for many opponents; they lost five games by fewer than five points. They were also dominant at home, tallying an 8-2 record in their gym.
Central enjoyed a great 2016-17 season, winning 20 games. The team advanced to the 3A Region 4 tournament final before falling to Westside, and made it to the Sweet 16 of the 3A state tournament.
This season, both squads had to replace massive amounts of production. Rutland lost a trio of productive seniors that included leading rebounder and second leading scorer Deshon James. This season, senior Lamontis Moore, the Hurricanes leading scorer last season, leads an ensemble of players who have been scoring in bunches. They have averaged just over 70 points per game en route to their 3-1 start this season.
Central lost almost all of its offensive production from last season. While there have been players who have excelled this season, head coach Andre Taylor insists that his squad’s 5-0 start has been a full team effort.
“So many players have contributed to how we have started the season so I hate praising two and not all,” Taylor stated. “We are playing so well as a team and each player is playing their role.”
This game will not only help provide clarity in these teams’ fight for positioning in the region, but it also provides tremendous bragging rights within the city. That intra-city rivalry that exists between the schools is something that is undeniable and always brings the best out in the players.
“Records don’t matter when it comes to us playing in the city,” Taylor said. “For some reason when I talk to the other coaches in the city, if we would play ball as hard as we do against each other versus teams outside the city we would be playing a whole lot better ball against other teams.”
This game will most likely come down to a battle of styles. He offensive-minded Hurricanes versus the defensive stalwarts at Central. Through the first five games, opponents are averaging 40 points per game versus that Chargers defense. It’s much different from the way Taylor’s teams have been succeeding in recent years. However, when you are trying to replace eight of the 12 players on the roster from last season sacrifices have to be made.
“This group has changed their focus and they know we don’t have that offensive firepower so we are going to have to play defense and keep the point totals down for our opponent,” Taylor said.
It won’t be an easy task at Rutland, where the Hurricanes are 9-3 at home since last season. With all those factors, Taylor knows that his team will have to weather a big storm from the home team.
“We are going to have to get the game slowed down. We just cannot get into a running match with teams like we have been able to do in the past,” Taylor mentioned. “Trying to get them to play a slower tempo and try to stick to it on the defensive and offensive end.”
This story was originally published December 14, 2017 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Bragging rights on line in Central, Rutland game."