With the preseason action behind us, it is finally game week – well for three of our teams.
As we turn our attention to Week 1, we take a look at some of our thoughts from jamboree action on Friday night.
Hampton offense picks up where it left off last season
The Bulldogs offense rolled to touchdowns on both of their possessions on Friday night in two quarters of play. Led by quarterback Coby Jones as well as the running back duo of Adam McClain and Jerry Lunsford, the offense seemed to be clicking on all cylinders.
Hampton is one team many have marked as a contending team in their region, and that was reaffirmed during their showing on Friday night. We know it was a jamboree, but Hampton showed they still have all of their weapons.
Coby Jones is a pure athlete
Prior to game action on Friday night, the athletes from Avery County, Cloudland, Hampton and Unaka squared off in the skills competition. Hampton’s Jones showed that the preseason praise isn’t a fluke as he won the fastest back and longest pass competitions. He was also edged in the longest punt.
While he may not be the biggest skill player, Jones is certainly an athlete and an asset to the Bulldogs.
Cloudland offensive attack is back
In spring and fall camp, the ‘Landers worked on a triple option attack, but ditched the triple option in the week leading up to the jamboree. It is still early to tell, but it looked like Coach Brock Pittman made the right decision.
The Cloudland offense sputtered during scrimmages at West Greene and Unicoi County in the triple option attack. However, the ‘Landers marched down the field against a strong Hampton defense in the spread option – which has become Cloudland’s bread and butter during the Pittman era. With athletes like Austin Whitehead, Colby Birchfield and Noah Arnett, the spread option becomes a dangerous offense for opposing teams as Cloudland can put the ball in the athletes’ hands in space.
Unaka squad shows promise
The Rangers showed signs of improvement during their two quarters against Avery County. While upperclassmen Micah Hunt and Brandon Guinn made impacts in the Rangers’ scoring drive, sophomore Blake King looked crisp in his first varsity snaps as did freshman John Ramsey.
It will be important for Unaka to keep improving, if they do just that, it could be a solid year on Stoney Creek.
Happy Valley defense keeps SG offense in check
While coaches are quick to point out that they treat jamborees differently, we would be amiss if we didn’t mention the job that the Warriors defense did on keeping a potent South Greene offense off the scoreboard. Jason Jarrett’s squad wasn’t able to put the ball in the endzone during their three possessions, but they kept the Rebels spread-option attack in check to keep them off the board as well.
