photo by Steve VanGunda

Several Natchez High defenders bring down Wilkinson County quarterback Brian Montgomery in the Bulldogs 35-14 victory over the Wildcats last Friday night.

Bulldogs battle on Friday

Krysten Oliphant

Published Wednesday, September 17, 2008

NATCHEZ — Natchez High football coach Lance Reed has been focused on his team’s run-stopping ability through both of their games this season, and he said its improvement will be tested on Friday.

The Bulldogs host Franklin County, a team Reed said is known for its ground game. The other Bulldogs ran for 264 yards in a 14-10 win against Charleston this past weekend.

“That’s kind of been our Achilles’ heel over past few years, our defensive run-stopping ability, so we’ve really been emphasizing it,” Reed said. “When we face a good running team, it’s almost a measuring stick for where we are on defense.”

Natchez allowed 244 yards rushing to Wilkinson County in a 35-14 win on Friday.

“We know where we’re not doing well, but we’re planning to get much better at those things,” Reed said. “Our line-backing play is going to have to help. We will put a lot on their shoulders.”

Reed also said he needs to get the ball into the hands of offensive playmakers like Rico Richardson, Zack Brown, Vantrell Johnson and Joel Davis.

He was less than pleased with the way that worked out Friday.

“We’ve got to be creative to give those guys a chance to help move the ball down the field,” he said. “Our offense is really predicated upon taking what the defense gives us. It took us too long to get settled into what we had available that the defense was giving us.”

Coach Trent Hammond was not necessarily pleased with his team’s performance on Friday either.

Franklin County had to come from behind with a seven-yard touchdown run with 10:43 to go to seal the win.

“In the first half we were just giving up some plays in the running game that I didn’t think we should. That’s a credit to Charleston — they came in saw some things and took advantage of them. We just tried to move some people around and eliminate that in the second half.”

Hammond praised his assistant coaches after the game for the changes they made during halftime, taking away a lot of what was working for Charleston.

Now he will have to try to take away Natchez quarterback Javon Washington’s dynamic arm, while trying to contend with the offensive and defensive lines’ size.

“We’re not a great big bunch of guys,” Hammond said. “We’re having to prepare to deal with how big they are. We’re just a 3-A school, and we only get big kids every now and then. We’ve just got to concentrate on our technique and hope that it overcomes those disadvantages.”

Reed said since Saturday’s practice, he has had the Bulldogs (4-0) focusing on little things like controlling the ball and reading plays.

He said his team should not be fooled by Franklin County’s 2-2 record.

“They’re definitely going to be one of the best teams we play this year,” he said. “We can’t get complacent. By far, we aren’t close to being a good team at this point, although we have potential.”