No. 9 Morgan County (6-1, 2-0 Region 4-AAA) will face Hephzibah (5-2, 1-1) this Friday on the road.
• Series History: Morgan County leads, 5-1.
• Last Meeting: Morgan County defeated Hephzibah 49-33 in 2022. Hephzibah is much improved this season after going 6-5 in 2022.
Entering Friday’s game, the Rebels are 5-2 overall and 1-1 in region play but are coming off a bad 41-20 loss to Harlem last week.
Per Morgan County head coach Clint Jenkins, Hephzibah is going to be a “tough test” for his team. The third-year Bulldogs’ coach was very complimentary of several Rebels’ players as well.
“They’re very big up front with some really good skill kids,” Jenkins said. “The quarterback (JJ Gant) can run. They’ve also got a really good running back that also plays middle linebacker for them. He’s probably around 225 or 230 [pounds]. He’s been a starter for them the past three years, too.”
Hephzibah’s offense is the strong point of the team, averaging 28 points per game through seven games; however, in the Rebels’ losses, they’ve scored less than 21 points in each of those two contests.
Gant has passed for 677 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions, but also rushed for 261 yards and three scores. In the loss to Harlem, he got knocked out of the game early and didn’t return.
Either way, their offense relies mostly on senior running back Telly Johnson, a 6-foot, 215-pound bruiser who’s rushed for a team-high in yards (749 yards) and touchdowns (12) this year.
Jenkins said his defense has been stout at stopping the run, but going up against Johnson is a tough task.
“Last week, I don’t think our linebackers missed a tackle,” Jenkins said. “We’ve got to be able to stop this guy, though. He’s a big, physical running back that’s as big as our linebackers and runs tough.”
Hephzibah’s defense has struggled at times this season, and last week got exposed by Harlem. The Bulldogs racked up 448 yards of total offense against the Rebels with a balanced attack.
A pair of Harlem quarterbacks combined to complete 13-of-20 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns. The Bulldogs also rushed for 201 yards and four scores on the ground last Friday night.
Morgan County’s offense this season has been pretty balanced at times, but it favors the run with Jaydon Dorsey leading the way with 847 yards and 11 touchdowns, including four 100-plus yard games.
Also, senior Talan Fuller and sophomore Davis Strickland have split time at quarterback, combining for 875 yards, a nearly 60 percent completion rate, and nine touchdowns compared to three picks.
So, Hephzibah will have to stop an offense that’s rolling in its last three games, averaging 46 points.
Jenkins thinks the Rebels will bounce back from last week’s loss and play their best this Friday.
“They return a lot of kids this year. I knew they were going to be excited about this team before the season started,” Jenkins said. “Their big and athletic in some spots, so they’ll be a big test for us.”
Morgan County and Hephzibah will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at “Big John” McLeod Stadium this Friday.