Twiggs County focusing on itself in opener against East Laurens

Friday night will mark the beginning of a new era for the Twiggs County Cobras with first-year head coach Ashley Harden, and with a newfound sense of stability, the Cobras will focus squarely on capitalizing on their opportunities and limiting mental mistakes on the road against East Laurens.

“I really want us to focus on not hurting ourselves,” Harden said. “In our last scrimmage game, we killed ourselves with penalties in crucial moments in the ballgame. We want to work on not hurting ourselves and doing the little things right.”

At the onset of the job, Harden prioritized strengthening the team mentally and focusing on a team atmosphere rather than an individualistic culture. He believed the talent was in place to be “harnessed,” and now after a summer with the program, he has already noticed a positive shift.

Along with improving “some of the little things and just coming together,” Harden said the team chemistry has spiked.

“The guys, it seems like they really like each other now, and they’re playing for each other,” Harden said. “When I first got here, it seemed like they were some guys playing football. Now we kind of feel like a football team.”

Mentally, while not quite to the point Harden wants, the team has “taken some pretty good strides,” he said. Starting strong out of the gate against East Laurens will help Twiggs County’s case.

The Cobras are at a disadvantage in the depth department.

“I think that’s the biggest key is just getting out to a good start,” Harden said. “(East Laurens doesn’t) need any help getting any confidence by jumping out early on us, so we really need to come out solid early and try to capitalize on all of our opportunities.

“Coming out and trying to stop their running game early and capitalizing on some of their alignments and plays on defense will be real key.”

The Falcons’ running game, led by seniors Kevin Lovett at running back and Michael Plummer at fullback, will be the prime concern for Twiggs County. Lovett and Plummer also impact the game defensively at linebacker.

But Twiggs County also possesses players who can make noise against the Falcons. Harden expects running back Javoris Smith to have “a pretty good game,” as he noted Smith’s elusiveness after the front line of defense. Harden also spoke highly of the maturation process of quarterback Calvin Stephens, who impressed Harden during the team’s final scrimmage.

“He has grown up tremendously over the summer,” Harden said.

Defensively, Harden expects two players in the front seven, defensive end Nathaniel Freeney and inside linebacker Cornelius Morse, to make their presence felt.

“I think all those guys, as well, everyone on the team, I’ll go to bat with them,” Harden said. “I’ll go to war with them any day, any given night, just depending on what they’re giving us.”

While East Laurens, after a 35-34 victory over Taylor County in its opener last week, has its own source of motivation with head coach Buddy Sorrow battling a bacterial infection, the Cobras are looking to prove themselves after a 1-9 record last year.

“Where the program was when we came in, every little thing we can grab that shows improvement, that’s what we want to do each and every week,” Harden said. “Just get better.”

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Twiggs County focusing on itself in opener against East Laurens ."