Season in transition for area teams

Published 11:53 pm Sunday, November 12, 2006

Football is only for a select few from here until the champions are crowned.

With the regular season over for Georgia High School Association football, Dalton and Northwest Whitfield turn their sights to this week’s playoff games while Murray County and Southeast start thinking about next year.

As always, while they look ahead, here’s a look back at the final week of the regular season — and the high and lows for each team.



Dalton

THUMBS UP: Muscle up front. Dalton’s defense forced Ridgeland to go three-and-out on five of the Panthers’ nine possessions and stopped them on downs three times. Defensive lineman Tate Metcalf and the talented trio of linebackers — Preston Keck, Jake McIntosh and Grant Raber — flooded the gaps and pushed around a normally physical Ridgeland team up front. The defense’s shutout was its second this year and fifth in the last 23 games.

THUMBS DOWN: Georgia High School Association rules. After Adrian Mora missed a 54-yard field goal wide right and just short, Ridgeland, by rule, assumed possession at the 20-yard line instead of the 37 (the original spot) or the 44 (the spot of the kick). It’s a rule in need of revision. Mora is perfectly capable of kicking 54-yard field goals at the high school level, but some element of risk should come into play.



Murray County

THUMBS UP: Sticking together. It must have grown tougher for the Indians each week this year, with the losses mounting despite the work they put in on the practice field. But they kept at it and were there for each other until the end, with the seniors soaking up the final moments they shared as teammates at Murray Field on Friday. As coaches and players encouraged and thanked each other after the game, it was clear to any bystander that they remained a team in the truest sense through all the struggles of a winless season.

THUMBS DOWN: Falling off the pace. One of the reasons the Indians had trouble this year — beyond being outmatched athletically against most of their Class 5A opponents — was that they struggled to put it all together for four quarters. Inconsistency bit them in the games where they had a chance to steal a bit of momentum and perhaps claim a victory, and that was the case on Friday against Woodstock. After taking a 14-0 lead, the offense lost some of its juice and the defense couldn’t slow the Wolverines on the ground, where they stacked up more than 350 yards.



Northwest Whitfield

THUMBS UP: Stout-hearted defense. The Bruins got one play from their defensive leader, but hung tough with the talented Rome Wolves. T. J. Swinford filled in admirably for the injured Rhett Headden. Swinford broke up an early pass when Rome went for a first down on a fourth-and-six play in the second quarter. Spencer Bragg was knocking heads all night. Dean Haynes played solid in the secondary, as did Zach Keeter — who averaged 40.1 yards on four punts to make Rome start at its own 1, 11, 10 and 16.

THUMBS DOWN: Third-downward spiral. The Bruins failed three times to hold Rome on third-down plays. They gave up 20 1/2 yards on a third-and-20 for a first down. On third-and-7 and third-and-2 situations in the third quarter, Rome converted for touchdown passes — but most of the credit goes to Wolves wide receiver Terrell Burley for making good plays rather than breakdowns by the Northwest secondary.



Southeast

THUMBS UP: Sticking with what works. Southeast’s running game and stingy defense did the job in their second victory of the season. The Raiders rarely if ever looked desperate to make a play against hapless Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe. Instead, they stayed patient and ran their offense well. Defensively, Southeast brought pressure all night and the Raiders’ front seven squashed the run.

THUMBS DOWN: Penalties. There were very few problems for the Raiders on Friday night. If anything stood out it was eight penalties for 50 yards.