MORGAN COUNTY
No. 1 seed Morgan County begins the Class AAA postseason with No. 4 seed Monroe this Friday.
The Bulldogs are coming off a win over Harlem to capture their first region title in six years.
They’ve been to the postseason for the past eight seasons, but haven’t won a playoff game in 11 years, so head coach Clint Jenkins is going to have his players ready for a chance to advance on Friday.
Jenkins doesn’t want his players to overlook the Golden Tornadoes because they’re a four-seed, though.
“Monroe played in a tough region. It’s one of those situations where they are not a typical four-seed because they beat Crisp County, which is the No. 2 seed in their region,” Jenkins said. “All those teams in that region just beat up on each other and that’s the way it fell. I think there’s a lot of parity in that league, so that’s just how tough it is. Their win over Crisp was huge for them.”
Last season, Morgan County entered the playoffs as a No. 2 seed but lost to No. 3 seed Liberty County. The Bulldogs have since learned from last year’s mistakes and are hungry to face the Golden Hawks.
According to Jenkins, this season’s team is a year older and is more experienced heading into the playoffs. He also acknowledged that his squad could be peaking at the right time when it matters most.
“Coming out of the Harlem game, we knew what was at stake,” Jenkins said. “It’s very a similar situation coming into this game. I thought we played well at Harlem – both offensively and defensively. We did some good things and were able to go on the road and beat a good football team. This is the time you want to be peaking and playing your best football, but it remains to be seen.”
Monroe is a great matchup for Morgan County because both teams are very much alike. The Golden Tornadoes run a well-balanced offense like the Bulldogs and have similar defensive schemes.
Monroe senior Corey Randle has passed for 1,566 yards, 12 touchdowns, and only three interceptions. Randall is also the Golden Tornadoes’ leading rusher, totaling 677 yards and four scores.
Monroe also relies on its run-game with seniors Demarcus Freeman and Jacobe McDonald. The Golden Tornadoes also have a few skilled receivers in Cameryn Randle (426 yards, 3 TDs), Raymond Tinch (384 yards, 1 TD), Jordan Washington (327 yards, 2 TDs), and Talaun Jones (183 yards, 2 TDs).
“They try to be pretty balanced on offense. Kind of 50/50,” Jenkins said. “If anything, they’ll try to pass a little more than run, but they try to stay balanced. They use a lot of 10 personnel, double, trips, and empty (sets). They are also a gap-scheme attack and run power and counter (attacks). If you start looking at them personnel-wise, they’ve got some good-looking kids. Got good receivers, the quarterback looks like he can run and around, and the running backs seem to be solid.”
While Monroe isn’t a high-scoring team, its offense has shown to be consistent. Defensively, the Golden Tornadoes have found a way to keep it close in all three of their losses during the regular season.
The key factor to the game is Morgan County’s defense needing to make plays early and force turnovers like last week. The Bulldogs’ offense also needs to play better in third-down situations.
“We have a great opportunity in front of us,” Jenkins said. “We are going to prepare like we have been, though. This is just another game, and it’s going to be more about us rather than them.”