The Screven County Gamecocks (6-4) have a pretty tall order ahead of them. Today, at around noon, SCHS will board the buses and head down to Folkston to face the No. 1, two-time defending champion Charlton County Indians (10-0).
"We're extremely excited about playing," said SCHS head coach Pat Collins. "The pressure's squarely on them. We're going down as the underdog, we know that. They're the ones that have won back-to-back state championships, so because of that, I think there's added pressure on them."
The Indians of Charlton are one the more successful programs in the state over the last few years. They've made three straight trips to the state championship game and have compiled a 40-5 record over the last three years. They're currently on a 19-game winning streak.
"They're going to be the fastest team we've seen all year," said Collins.
The Indians run a multiple offense, lining up in a shotgun nearly 80 percent of the time, but are balanced in terms of run-to-pass. On defense, Charlton runs a 4-4 or a 3-5 stack.
The Gamecocks will try to counter with an offense that has made some great strides of its own this season. Senior quarterback Chris Pye has thrown for 1028 yards and 10 touchdowns, sophomore running back Travis Coles has rushed for 1002 yards and 10 touchdowns and junior wide receiver Darion Carter has caught 29 balls for 659 yards and five TDs.
Collins said the Gamecocks will have to continue to be balanced going into Folkston tonight.
"We'll just have to do what we have to do," he said. "We're prepared to run, we're prepared to throw. We need to be balanced for this football game. I don't think you can go into this type of game and be one-dimensional. Now, we cannot turn the football over, and we cannot allow big plays and we have to be sound and solid in our special teams."
Screven had missed the state playoffs the last two seasons, and Collins said the first goal coming into 2006 was to get back to the state tournament.
"We set as an initial goal that the first step was to get back to the playoffs," said Collins. "That part is mission accomplished."
The second mission begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Indian Field, also known as The Swamp.
"We're extremely excited about playing," said SCHS head coach Pat Collins. "The pressure's squarely on them. We're going down as the underdog, we know that. They're the ones that have won back-to-back state championships, so because of that, I think there's added pressure on them."
The Indians of Charlton are one the more successful programs in the state over the last few years. They've made three straight trips to the state championship game and have compiled a 40-5 record over the last three years. They're currently on a 19-game winning streak.
"They're going to be the fastest team we've seen all year," said Collins.
The Indians run a multiple offense, lining up in a shotgun nearly 80 percent of the time, but are balanced in terms of run-to-pass. On defense, Charlton runs a 4-4 or a 3-5 stack.
The Gamecocks will try to counter with an offense that has made some great strides of its own this season. Senior quarterback Chris Pye has thrown for 1028 yards and 10 touchdowns, sophomore running back Travis Coles has rushed for 1002 yards and 10 touchdowns and junior wide receiver Darion Carter has caught 29 balls for 659 yards and five TDs.
Collins said the Gamecocks will have to continue to be balanced going into Folkston tonight.
"We'll just have to do what we have to do," he said. "We're prepared to run, we're prepared to throw. We need to be balanced for this football game. I don't think you can go into this type of game and be one-dimensional. Now, we cannot turn the football over, and we cannot allow big plays and we have to be sound and solid in our special teams."
Screven had missed the state playoffs the last two seasons, and Collins said the first goal coming into 2006 was to get back to the state tournament.
"We set as an initial goal that the first step was to get back to the playoffs," said Collins. "That part is mission accomplished."
The second mission begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Indian Field, also known as The Swamp.
