Champs re-enter 'double-digit' schedule

Cascade sophomore quarterback Jared Carkuff completed 10-of-16 passes, including two for scores, in last week's win over Mt. Pleasant. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

For high school football teams looking to make the TSSAA state playoffs, contests versus district foes leave a notch not only under the overall record but, more importantly, in the standings that decide who goes home and who goes on come November.

Every minute of the next five Friday nights matter to a Cascade team that's currently 2-3 overall and 1-0 in District 9-A.

On the other side of the field this week stands a home standing Eagleville (2-4, 2-1) thirsty for a trip to the playoffs after enjoying but one postseason game this century, which was a 42-12 loss to Collinwood in 2005.

That was also the last time the Eagles got the better of the Champions. They'll be looking to snap that three-game skid this week.

"We can't go in overconfident because if we do, they very well could beat us," Parker said. "They're going to pull out all the spots and do everything they can to beat us because this would give them an edge game as far as their chances of making the playoffs."

Cascade's 38-7 win over eighth-ranked Forrest in early September is their lone district 'W'.

"We're by no means guaranteed a spot in the playoffs," Parker said. "We've only won one (district) game. We've got to take every game as the most important game that we're going to play."

Last week the Orange and Black defeated Mt. Pleasant 39-15, while Eagleville handled Moore County 27-0 in Lynchburg.

One of the toughest non-district schedules around has left Cascade beaten, bruised and even concussed at times but what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

"When you play better people, you've got to play better and it's challenged us," Parker said.

"We're hoping that the competition that we've played will help us in this stretch. I felt like the two games we played before Forrest really helped us with the Forrest game. Then, the South Pitt game with their speed, I thought really helped us with Mt. Pleasant because Mt. Pleasant is very athletic with their skill (players)."

On top of sharing the field with talented football players like Davidson Academy's Justin Williams, Jo Byrns' Kevin Ashabraner and South Pittsburg's Terrell Robinson, the Orange and Black have also seen several different styles of offense, a fact which Parker says will help his team adjust on the fly.

"Our kids have seen just about everything that you can see. Because they've seen it, it's not as hard to make adjustments to," he said.

While the Champs did show improvement on defending the run between the tackles against Mt. Pleasant, it was the fourth time an opponent ran for over 200 yards. The coaching staff addressed the run defense this week, which is important because Eagleville "likes to play hammer football."

"I thought we got a little better last week with (stopping the run), but we haven't stopped the run consistently enough for what we would like to do and that's been one of the main focuses of what we've done this week," Parker said.

After juggling a different starting lineup on the offensive line each of the first five games, they hope to have found a winning formula with Anthony McPheron settling in at center, Brandon Jarrell and Cameron Brinkley at guard, with Drew Thomas and Eric Ross at tackle.

Parker's hoping some cohesion amongst the hogs will translate into more rushing yards. Their 172 yards in Week 5 was a season high.

"We haven't had any consistency up front," he said. "We've got to finish blocks. We're having people miss assignments here and miss assignments there. A lot of that comes about with the consistency and continuity. Offensive line is tough because not only do you have to know what you're doing, the guy beside you has got to know what he's doing and one mistake here or there can mess it all up."

A highly-productive return game has made up for some of the Champion offense's shortcomings. Last week the offense scrimmaged from a starting point of their 47-yard line or better eight times. That kind of field positioning can alleviate some of the pressure on the offense.

"I don't think that we're going to be one of those long, grind-it-out kind of teams this year," said Parker, pointing to the big-play ability of athletes like Ricky Hord and Gerald "Happy" Johnson.

Eagleville quarterback Will Duke threw for over 100 yards and a touchdown last week. He's joined on offense by five fellow seniors, including running back Trint Jordan, who surpassed the century mark on the ground against Moore County.

"(Jordan)'s built low to the ground, and he runs hard. You're not going to arm tackle him. He's going to hit you. We've really talked about getting to him, sticking him and wrapping him up. He's got some good wheels," Parker said.

The Eagle defense is senior-laden and led in the trenches by Kyle Smith and Brad Turner.