Morgan County had an up-and-down start to the season by playing a tough schedule, but things are looking up.
The Dogs entered this week with an overall record of 12-6 after experiencing success over the last month.
Morgan County head coach Cody Anderson has seen his players building chemistry over the past few months. He said having his entire team together and getting some players back from football has helped immensely.
“We’re still fighting consistency, but we’re a lot further down that path than where we were a month ago. Even three weeks ago, but I mean, the biggest thing is that we’ve finally got the football guys assimilated,” Anderson said. “The chemistry is starting to gel. We’re still battling some injuries, but our style of play and how we want to play have started coming together. We’re seeing a lot of success in wearing other teams down.”
Morgan County has a deep roster. Since region play began recently, multiple players have led in scoring. Entering this week, the Dogs had played 18 games, with eight different leading scorers. Five players also average around or over 10 points per game.
Veterans like Zeki Locus, Jacoby Simmons, Jaylen Elder, Kobe Jeffries, and Christian Monfort lead the team in scoring. King Hardy, Gavin Williams, Rydrell Lundy, Garrett Ward, and others have also contributed.
Anderson said the core of the team, and specifically the five leading scorers, have helped the younger players to step up.
“It’s been fun to be a part of because our opponents can’t key in on one player,” Anderson said. “There are a lot of guys contributing because when you see the speed at which we play, we get to play a lot of different guys.”
Anderson has received positive responses from the region’s coaches, who have said the Dogs are hard to defend against.
“The feedback I’ve gotten from other coaches is there’s not one guy you can pinpoint and try to take out of the game,” Anderson said. “Because if you try to take one away, we have six or seven that can step and score.” Morgan County’s boys have been hot since the end of the Christmas break, winning four out of their last five games. The Dogs were awarded for their hard work, and this week, Kyle Sandy ranked them No. 8 in Class AA.
Morgan County split games in a holiday tournament, beating Calvary Christian of Columbus on Dec. 27, but losing to Lee-Scott Academy of Alabama a day later.
However, the Dogs have gone undefeated since. They defeated Westside-Macon, Rutland, and Jackson to begin region play, earning them a top-10 spot.
Regardless, Anderson doesn’t want his guys to pay attention to the ranking. He needs them to take things day by day.
“I’m proud of them,” he said. “Being ranked is awesome, but humility is always one day away.”