Morgan County (4-0) used an explosive offensive attack to defeat rival Greene County (0-3) on Sept. 3.
The Dogs easily dominated the Tigers 63-20, as they put up 407 yards of total offense.
Morgan County head coach Clint Jenkins believes the team had an overall great night on the road. He was pleased with the offense’s quick action to score, as his team led Greene County 55-0 at the half.
“It was a really good night offensively, and we got off to a fast start,” Jenkins said. “We were able to run the ball like we wanted to, had some shots in the passing game, and were able to connect on them.”
Morgan County scored on its opening drive, when senior running back Christian Monfort broke off a run for 54 yards to the house.
It was the second consecutive game in which the Dogs scored on the first drive. In the previous week’s game against Oconee County, Jacoby Simmons put Morgan County ahead on a 77-yard rush for a score.
The Dogs’ rout of the Tigers continued from there. They scored quickly and often against Greene County’s defense.
Senior quarterback Davis Strickland, who completed 10 of 11 passes for 246 yards and four touchdowns, connected with senior wide receiver Wyatt Singleton for a 40-yard scoring strike to extend the lead to two scores.
“Davis missed [only] one pass in the whole game,” Jenkins said. “So he had an outstanding night throwing the football.”
The Dogs had several more playmakers score touchdowns in the first half, including Monfort, Ty Tillery, and Drew Ainslie.
Morgan County’s defense shut down Greene County in the first half. The Dogs pressured Tigers quarterback Landon Garretson and didn’t let him connect with any of his playmakers on the perimeter..
Morgan County senior Zeki Locus made a heads-up play on defense before the end of the half. He intercepted a Garretson pass and returned it 30 yards to the end zone, solidifying a dominant team effort in the first half.
“(Zeki) made a really nice play on a mesh route and ended up scoring a touchdown,” Jenkins said. “That was big for him, and it’s always exciting to be able to score on defense.”
Jenkins believes that the defense did a good job of maintaining a “physical” performance against Greene County. He noted that the unit’s front seven constantly stayed in the backfield, pressuring Garretson and stopping the run.
“We had some guys flying around, and they had a hard time kind of getting the running game going,” Jenkins said. “[Greene County] had some good skill kids, a good quarterback, and a running back.”
Morgan County will return to Bill Corry Stadium for its homecoming game with Cedar Shoals on Friday. The Dogs will follow with a bye week before hosting Westside (Macon) for their first region game of the season.
Jenkins says that the team is taking the season “one step at a time,” with their current focus on the matchup with Cedar Shoals.
“We’re really proud of our guys, and it was a good night over there for how we played the way we did,” Jenkins said. “Homecoming obviously is a big deal; we want to win the football game, and it’s the biggest game of the year now because it’s the next one.”