Class A Division II’s No. 6-ranked Greene County will face Class AA’s Miller Grove this Friday at home.
The Tigers (4-1) and Wolverines (3-2) are both coming off a bye week. Both will begin region play next week, too.
Greene County head coach Terrance Banks expects his players to be ready to face Miller Grove this week. He and Wolverines’ head coach Melvin Brown, both from the Atlanta area, know each other.
“I haven’t watched a ton of film on them, but I know Coach Brown from our time together in Dekalb County,” Banks said. “We grew up together.”
Miller Grove has had an up-and-down season. The Wolverines lost to Druid Hills 21-6 to start the season but defeated Therrell 7-6 the following week. They then lost to Rockdale County 16-0, knocked off Heritage 7-0 and Stone Mountain 50-0 in the next two games before the bye last week.
Banks acknowledged how athletic the Wolverines are on offense and how Friday will be a test for his defense.
“They’ll spread it out. You see that around Metro Atlanta,” he said. “It’ll be good for us to play a team with speed and athletes. We must react fast and solidify our communication on that side of the ball.”
Miller Grove’s offense is fast-paced and likes to get its athletes on the perimeter. If Greene County wants to win, the Tigers must play fast and physically to stop the Wolverines’ up-tempo attack.
Greene County’s defensive line has been dominant, spearheaded by Florida State commit Kevin Wynn. Sophomore MJ Peak is also starting to find his way, helping Wynn plug up gaps in the middle.
Senior linebackers Laryous Burt and RJ Monford, along with senior safety Steve Miller and senior cornerback Ivan Porter, can help chase down Miller Grove’s offensive weapons on the perimeter this week.
“[When we face a team like this], it makes us play at a different pace,” Banks said.
“People always ask me the main difference between smaller-and-bigger-level football. The main difference is the speed of the game. Good teams on this level play at a certain speed. That’s what I want our boys to see, and hopefully, this will prepare us for the speed we’ll see in the playoffs.”
Greene also has athletes. Running backs Travez Gibson and Amari Durham are hard to bring down. They’ve combined to rush for 751 yards and seven touchdowns through five games this year.
Banks believes the Tigers’ running backs are the strength of the offense.
“We’re hitting our grind right now. We’re averaging 300 yards a game on offense, with 195 coming from the ground,” Banks said. “That is who we are. I’ve learned a lot about us in that regard. Hopefully, we can get our offense going [against Miller Grove]. We’re scoring 28 points regularly.”