Morgan County (6-0, 1-0 Region 4-AA) is set to face Rutland (0-6, 0-1) at home this Friday.
The Dogs are currently ranked No. 2 in Class AA and will be defending their winning streak this week.
Morgan County head coach Clint Jenkins doesn’t want his team to overlook a winless Rutland squad.
“They’re athletic in some spots, and they’ve actually moved the ball on people,” Jenkins said. “Their scores wouldn’t indicate that necessarily, but when you start looking deeper at them, they’ve moved the ball on teams. They’ve also turned the ball over a good bit, but between the 20s, they’ve moved the ball. They’ve got some kids who can run the ball well. We have to be ready.”
Dual-threat quarterback Rashon Collier leads Rutland’s offensive. The Hurricanes rarely throw the ball, so they rely on Collier’s ability to move the chains, along with senior Mondrial Whitfield this year.
After giving up a season-high 32 points, Morgan’s defensive unit looks to post a shutout against Rutland on Friday. The Dogs are giving up an average of 21 points through six games on defense in 2024.
“They’ve also got some kids who can throw and catch the ball,” Jenkins said. “They have great skill players. They’ve also got some guys that are slippery and hard to tackle, but you go back to the same deal. It’s more about us than it is about them. It’s more about us getting better. This week at practice, it’s more about focusing on our next step, which is preparing for the Rutland game.”
Offensively, Morgan also has the upper hand, averaging 37.5 points per game. The Dogs have a balanced offensive attack, with quarterback Davis Strickland, tailback Christian Monfort, and wide receivers Jaylen Elder and Ty Tillery leading the way. They’ve played a vital role for the Dogs this year.
Strickland has completed 93 of 126 passes for 1,550 yards, 19 touchdowns, and only three picks this year. Montfort has rushed for 705 yards on 85 attempts and five scores. Elder is one of the state’s most dynamic receivers, hauling in 37 passes for 810 yards and nine scores, while Tiller has caught 25 passes for 380 yards and five touchdowns. They hope to continue their success this week.
Jenkins believes his players will be ready to compete despite struggling against Westside last week.
“When you get a group of guys with a common goal, and they understand what we’re going to have to do to achieve that goal, kids can be unstoppable,” Jenkins said. “We will be ready to play.”