West Laurens looks for revenge against St. Pius X

Head coach Stacy Nobles and the West Laurens Raiders are seeking redemption.

This year's second-round GHSA Class AAAA playoff matchup pits the Raiders against the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year in the quarterfinals: St. Pius X.

The Raiders are coming off a 31-14 victory over Burke County on the road in the first round. Running back Greg Covin posted a career-high 167 yards rushing, and quarterback Jalen Mack went 11-of-16 for 131 yards. It marks the second straight season the Raiders have advanced past the first round. Before last season, the program hadn't advanced since 1994.

"It was huge. We've just tried to get the kids to believe that they can win, not hoping they can win," Nobles said.

But it won't be an easy task. St. Pius X has a formidable rushing attack of its own. In a 28-19 win over Ridgeland, the Golden Lions had more than 300 yards rushing for the fifth time this season. The 31-13 loss to St. Pius in the Class AAAA quarterfinals last season still stings, Nobles said.

"We felt like last year we could have won (the game)," he said. "It 17-13 was later in the fourth quarter, and we played well on defense. This could be a huge step for us."

But the this isn't the first time the Raiders have had to answer a challenge. West Laurens lost running back Darius Bradford after their seventh game of the season. Before his injury, Bradford had two 200-yard rushing games and was approaching 1,000 for the season. Yet, the Raiders have won three of four games without him.

"We rode (Bradford) heavily. He's one of the best players in Middle Georgia," Nobles said. "When that happened, we challenged the kids. We knew the kids had to step up. That's just a tribute to our kids. We knew that was what it was gonna take."

This time, the Raiders are playing all in. All the pressure in this week's matchup sits squarely on the Golden Lions' shoulders, Noble said.

"Our kids have had a great week at practice," he said. "They're focused. They're hungry. Nobody gave us a chance to win against last week against Burke, and nobody's gonna give us a chance to win this week.

"We get to pin our ears back and go play football."

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 10:35 PM.