Week off gives Stratford football some perspective

A lot of what the Stratford football team did during its off week last week fell in line with what a lot of teams do when facing a week without a game.

Fundamentals were worked on. Conditioning received some attention. Bumps and bruises were given a chance to heal.

There was, however, some interscholastic competition for a few Stratford football players ... competition of a theatrical kind.

A quartet of junior linemen -- Justin Griffin, David Matlock, Jacob Burke and Russell Mole -- took part in Stratford's entry in the GHSA Class A private school one-act play competition that took place Saturday at Bleckley County.

Griffin, Matlock, Burke and Mole played guard dogs in "Animal Farm," a production that earned Stratford the Area 1-A private one-act play title and one of four spots in the state competition.

Lakeview Academy won the state competition, while Whitefield Academy placed second.

"I thought it was a great experience for them," Stratford football head coach Mark Farriba said. "I thought it was very commendable of them to get out of their comfort zone and get involved in something else and see how some other people go about doing their jobs and some of the disciplines it takes to do some other things. I went to see them, and I was very proud of them."

With the one-act play competition completed, the football players-turned-actors returned to the practice field to prepare for the Eagles' first-round playoff game Friday at Calvary Day.

Stratford (7-3) takes on a Calvary Day squad that has given up few points all season. The Cavaliers (9-1) haven't given up more than 14 points in a game, recording four shutouts and holding four opponents to seven points or fewer.

The Eagles, meanwhile, have scored at least 21 points in every game, scored 40 or more points seven times and have a receiver (Quintez Cephus) who committed to Wisconsin last week.

"The numbers back up (what kind of defense Calvary Day has)," Farriba said. "When you watch them on film, they look like the best defensive team we've seen this year. Very solid, great technique, good players at a lot of positions."

Calvary Day, whose only loss is to Region 3A-A opponent Savannah Country Day, is seeded seventh in the Class A private school playoffs. Stratford, which lost to Region 7-A champion Aquinas twice and fell to Class AA Wesleyan, a team that is still alive in the playoffs, is seeded 10th. The winner faces the Athens Christian-Pinecrest Academy winner in next week's quarterfinals.

Junior quarterback Salvador Calderon is Calvary Day's biggest offensive weapon. In the nine games leading into the Cavaliers' region crossover game, Calderon had 829 passing yards -- with a .652 completion percentage -- and led his team in rushing with 706 yards.

"It will be a real challenge for us, but it will be a good opportunity for us to test ourselves and see how we stack up against them," Farriba said.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Week off gives Stratford football some perspective ."