Following a decisive win over Glenn Hills, Lake Oconee Academy will have another tough road test at Landmark Christian this Friday, hoping to stay undefeated.
The War Eagles come into the game with a 3-1 record. Their only loss on the season was to KIPP Atlanta, but they’ve been perfect in the past three games.
“I think Landmark Christian is going to be the best non-region team we have seen this season, so it’s going to be a great game,” Lake Oconee Academy head coach Patrick Stewart said.
Stewart said the toughest task for this game would be limiting the Landmark Chrisitan offense.
The Titans saw a similar offense last week against Glenn Hills, so this won’t be unfamiliar territory for them.
“They have a good skill group at quarterback and two receivers who are really good, so it’ll be a similar plan to last week,” Stewart said.
That plan from last week held Glenn Hills to 95 yards of total offense, so the Titans know how to execute against this style of offense.
“We’ve just got to make sure our defensive backs are in the right spot and reading the right keys,” Stewart said.
Stewart acknowledged that his team must win the battle in the trenches to emerge victorious.
“Offensively, they play a four-man front, so it’s going to start up front, and we’ve got to have a great push up front to run the ball and get the passing game going,” he said.
Luckily for the Titans, that plays right into one of the strengths that Stewart described about his team.
“Upfront, we’ve got some older guys like Kaleb Mathis and Mason Salemi,” Stewart said. “Everything starts up front, and having those two as our anchors helps us tremendously.”
The other strength he described was how good of a senior group the Titans have.
“Our senior class is a really strong group that leads the team well from a leadership perspective,” Stewart said. “Mentally, we’ve got to go in it with our 0-0 mindset. We can’t be thinking we’re 5-0, and we’re going to go in there and win.”
Lake Oconee Academy is on the road again this week. They travel to Fairburn to take on Landmark Christian. Kickoff against the War Eagles is set for 7:30 p.m.