#3 ECI (11-1) at #2 Wilcox County (10-2)
7:30 p.m., Today, Rochelle
Class A Semifinals
TWIN CITY — The last time the Emanuel County Institute Bulldogs made the long trip out to Wilcox County, they came home with a state championship in tow.
Another state title is still two wins away, but ECI (11-1) can punch its ticket to the Georgia Dome with a win over the Patriots (10-2) tonight in Rochelle.
This year’s Bulldogs are looking more and more like the 2007 squad that defeated Wilcox County in the championship game and are now on the verge of joining that squad in the ECI history books.
“We try to take things one game at a time,” said ECI coach Chris Kearson. “Wilcox County kind of makes that easier for us since they’re so good and we have so much to prepare for, but I think that everyone knows where we stand. Our guys know that we’re one win away from going to the Dome, but they also know what it’s going to take to get there.”
An offensive juggernaut for most of the season, the Bulldogs had to grind out a win in last week’s quarterfinal matchup against Trion.
A clock-killing strategy by Trion limited ECI to just 32 offensive plays. Still, the Bulldogs were able to find a way, scoring touchdowns on four of those plays to pull out the win.
“It’s good that we had a close game like that,” said Kearson. “We weren’t able to run as many plays as we wanted and we had some lapses on defense. Obviously, things didn’t go exactly as we planned, but it’s good to know that we can win in spite of that.”
After trying to get Trion’s methodical offense off of the field, the Bulldogs now face an entirely different monster in Wilcox County’s spread passing attack.
Patriots quarterback Makail Grace has connected on 210 of his 333 pass attempts (63.1%) to the tune of 3,054 yards and 29 touchdowns. Grace has been just as effective when forced out of the pocket as he has rushed for 861 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver Jonathan Howard is one of the top receivers in the state with 99 catches for 1,421 yards and 17 touchdowns while Wilcox also boasts four other receivers with more than 200 yards on the season.
“It’s pretty much impossible to simulate that in order to prepare,” said Kearson. “We don’t have 6’5” receivers or guys that will throw for 3,000 yards to practice against. They have the ability to score from anywhere on the field. We’re going to need a great game out of our secondary.”
The Bulldogs will counter with their own powerful offense.
While not quite as flashy as the Patriots’ air attack, ECI’s running game has done just fine, averaging 41 points per game.
Greg Purcell (910 rushing yards) and James Brown (880) have both rushed for 11 touchdowns this season while power back Michael Sutton (572) has scored 12 times.
The Bulldogs’ stout offensive line has done a stellar job all season to pave the way for the running backs and will have to do so again in order to keep the chains moving and keep the Patriot offense on the sidelines.
“We really don’t want to get into a track meet, but it might go that way,” said Kearson. “We want to make Wilcox earn its way down the field without big plays and we want to be able to control the ball when we’re on offense. But regardless of how it plays out, I think that it should be a great game and one that we can win if we play our best.”
The winner of tonight’s game will take on either Lincoln County or Dooly County on Dec. 15 for the Class A public school state championship at the Georgia Dome.
Mike Anthony may be reached at (912) 489-9404.