Morgan County will host Social Circle Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Billy Corry Stadium for the season opener.
• Series History: Morgan County leads, 1-0
• Last Meeting: Morgan County defeated Social Circle 42-18 in 2022. Morgan County and Social Circle will renew its rivalry on the gridiron Friday to open up the season.
The Bulldogs are entering year three under head coach Clint Jenkins, while the Redskins are in their fourth year under Rob Patton’s direction. This is the second all-time matchup between the two teams.
Morgan has a chance to start the season 1-0 for a second-straight season. However, Social Circle should give the Bulldogs a tough battle, despite losing a lot of key players in 2022.
“Their offense will look a lot different this year,” Morgan head coach Clint Jenkins said. “I expect it to be a lot more gap-scheme runs, basically just adapting to what they have on offense now.”
Social Circle lost important pieces from last season, such as quarterback Logan Cross along with Phillip Baynes Jr., Mason Moore, Mekhi Butts Dashon Hyman, and Dylan Ross.
According to The Covington News, the Redskins graduated 17 seniors from last season, with six moving on to play college football. A lot of those guys were also three-and-four-year starters.
However, their quarterback, Logan Cross is the biggest loss. He passed for over 4,600 yards and 54 TDs over the past two seasons, so Social Circle will have to replace his production this year.
It looks as if senior Sean Crews will be the starter for the Redskins heading into Week 1. In the backfield, Kam Durden returns for his senior year. The running back totaled 695 yards as a junior.
Crews and Durden will lead a Social Circle offensive attack that’s going up against a stout defense.
Morgan County’s defense returns seniors such as Antavious Elder and Landen Vickers. Each is tasked with rushing the quarterback and stopping the run, which they will do to the best of their ability.
Social Circle was a pass-heavy offense the past few seasons led by Cross. However, the Redskins are likely to be more of a balanced attack since losing Cross and their top four pass catchers from 2022.
“I think they’re going to have a different philosophy this year,” Jenkins said. “In the game that we’ve got [film on], run to pass was about 80-20, which is flipped now. Last year, it was pass to run.”
Offensively, Morgan needs to establish the run early with starter Jay Dorsey getting a bulk of the load. If the senior and sophomore Christian Monfort can settle in, they could run all over their opponent.
Social Circle is replacing seven of the team’s top eight tacklers from last season, so its defense is young. The Redskins need to step up and stop the run in order to keep the Bulldogs out of the end zone.
“They’re physical and Coach Patton will have his guys ready,” Jenkins said. “He does a good job over there.”