MORGAN COUNTY
Morgan County (4-1, 1-0 Region 4-AAA) hits the road this week for a region matchup against Salem (1-5, 0-1).
Series History: Salem leads the all-time series, 2-1.
Last Meeting: Morgan County defeated Salem 45-0 in 2022.
Salem hasn’t won much lately and hasn’t had a winning season since 2018.
The Seminoles enter this game on a four-game losing skid with losses to Winder-Barrow, Hephzibah, Coffee County and Cairo.
Still, Morgan County head coach Clint Jenkins doesn’t want his team to overlook Salem. He highlighted the Seminoles have faced many challenges this year and should not be underestimated.
“Salem has had a really tough schedule playing Coffee, which is the No. 1 team in its classification,” he said. “They’ve also played Winder, Cairo and the rest of a tough non-region schedule.”
Regardless, Salem’s offense hasn’t been very productive this season, averaging only 6.67 points per game. The Seminoles also didn’t score a single point in September, being shut out three times.
Salem’s offense is trying to break in multiple quarterbacks, with T.J. Hampton and Ethan Dowdy having split reps. Each has struggled behind an offensive line that returns only two starters from 2023.
Salem’s defensive unit also has struggled, giving up 50-plus points in three of its last four games. The Seminoles have given up an average of 39.76 points per contest through six games.
Salem returned only a few starters on defense after several transferred out of the program last year. The Seminoles allowed a programworst 417 points last season, so they’re still trying to improve.
On the other hand, Morgan’s offense is averaging 34.5 points per game. The Bulldogs do a nice job of running a balanced attack.
Quarterbacks Talan Fuller and Davis Strickland are splitting time and have been consistent through the air while running back Jaydon Dorsey remains successful on the ground.
Defensively, Morgan is second among all Class AAA schools in scoring defense. The Bulldogs’ defense, coached by first-year coordinator David Bethea, has been giving up just 11.5 points per game.
Morgan County has an experienced secondary with Dorsey, Zach Moore, Jaylen Elder and Trevon Rhodes, while the Bulldogs’ defensive line and its linebacking core are also solid units.
Morgan should easily have the upper hand against a struggling Salem squad on Friday night in Conyers.
Jenkins highlighted Salem has athletes, but it seems the Seminoles are trying to put it together right now. Regardless, he just wants his team to put together a complete, four-quarter game like it did last week.
“They’ve got some decent size and decent skill kids,” Jenkins said. “But for us, it’s really not about Salem. It’s about us. We want to continue to get better at the things we’re doing. We just want to come out and play well. We’re a day-at-a-time, one-play-at-at-time kind of team right now.”