| WHS hopes to limit turnovers in playoff rematch with Milan |
By: Stephanie Sturgis - Press Sports Editor
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Posted: Friday, November 14, 2008 10:37 am
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Back on track — Westview running back Demarcus Williams (center) gave a boost to the Charger offense with his return to the field after missing three games due to injury. The Chargers will need his help when they take on the Milan Bulldogs.
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The Westview Chargers used a physical second-half performance to pull away from the Oakhaven Hawks and win 38-20 in the first round of the TSSAA Class AA playoffs last week in Memphis.
The victory sets up a rematch with the host undefeated Milan Bulldogs (11-0) in the second round of the postseason at 7 on Friday night in Milan. The Bulldogs advanced past the first round by crushing Booker T. Washington, 48-12.
"We're glad to be playing right now. There are only 16 teams left playing in Class AA right now. We have high goals and expectations here and some years its easier to achieve those than others," said head coach Don Coady, who accumulated his 150th career coaching win last week. "We're glad to be back and survive, and we're looking forward to playing again."
Both the Milan and the Westview programs are regular participants in the playoffs. Westview now has a 23-16 record in the postseason, while the Bulldogs' overall playoff record now stands at 52-27.
It will be the fifth time these two programs have squared off in the postseason. Milan currently has the advantage with three wins in the four meetings.
The task awaiting the Chargers (7-4) may appear daunting at a cursory glance. Milan and WHS squared off just two weeks ago with Milan winning handily, 45-14, but a closer look reveals the host Bulldogs took full advantage of Charger turnovers.
"When you go back and look at the game tape, we didn't give ourselves a chance. We won some matchups and we lost some matchups," the Charger head man said. "We can't go out and give them three touchdowns and then get out of position and give up easy touchdowns. I don't feel like we made Milan work for their win."
The Chargers are coming off one of their strongest offensive outings of the season. The 427 team rushing yards and 23 first downs last week were both season highs. Senior J.C. Griggs' finished with 264 rushing yards, the second-highest in a WHS playoff game behind Rafael Hill's 413-yard outing vs. Ridgeway in the 2000 playoffs.
The return of running back Demarcus Williams last week allowed Griggs to move back to his natural position at fullback.
Jake Vincent, who has also been off the field due to injury for a month, provides a boost for Westview, but the Chargers did suffer a blow when strong safety Matt Melton endured a broken collarbone on Tuesday. Mark Tucker will replace Melton at strong safety. Tucker filled in for Melton when he missed time early in the season for the same type of injury. |
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