By JOSH VARDAMAN
Independence visits Lincoln County for a Region 5-Class 5A matchup Friday, while Centennial takes on Dickson County in a Region 7-5A bout.
See below for a closer look at those matchups:
Independence (2-0) at Lincoln County (1-0), 7 p.m. Friday*
Not even Mother Nature could end the Independence Eagles’ winning streak in Week 2.
The Eagles won their 17th straight contest by running away late from Centennial 31-21 in a game that was postponed Friday midway through the first quarter due to lightning. They finished the game on Saturday.
“We had a good week of preparation and had to deal with some adversity from the weather and unforeseen circumstances,” IHS head coach Scott Blade said. “It was a long weekend, but I’m glad to see them fight through it and preserve the win.”
Going into Week 3, Indy will face a little of an unknown in travelling to play the Lincoln County Falcons.
Lincoln County has only played one game this season after it had a bye in Week 1. It beat Lawrence County 30-0 last week.
“They’ve only played one game … so we know the Week 1 to Week 2 is usually the biggest improvement, so we’re expecting a great challenge,” Blade said. “Every team on our schedule is a challenge, so this week is just the next one.”
The game is the second of four road games in a row for the Eagles, which presents its own challenge.
“It’s the challenge of travelling and being on the bus for over an hour, but we’ll get these kids ready and should be OK,” Blade said.
The Falcons go into Friday with momentum on both sides of the ball after cruising past Lawrence County in their first game.
Offensively, they present a difficult scheme to defend.
“Their quarterback is definitely their biggest strength,” Blade said. “They will try to run it down your throat if they can, then they use what’s called an RPO – a run-pass option. It kind of messes up your keys a little bit, so we’ll have to play disciplined with our assignments. When it’s run really well, that’s a tough thing to slow down and stop.”
Running back Troy Henderson has emerged as a top playmaker for Indy’s spread attack. He’s rushed for 236 yards and five touchdowns on 41 carries this season, while also racking up six receptions for 84 yards.
Other top weapons for the Eagles include wide receivers Landon Guidry (10 rec., 165 yds, 1 rush TD) and Kendrell Scurry (8 rec., 104 yds, 1 TD).
The ringleader of the group is quarterback Brandon Hines.
He’s recorded 463 passing yards, 68 rushing yards, one touchdown and three interceptions this season.
If he’s going to build on those numbers, he has to be efficient in deciphering Lincoln County’s diverse defense.
“Defensively, they’re more of a 4-3 defense and they can play Cover 3 in it,” Blade said. “But we imagine against us we’re going to see some two-high stuff, so we’ll have to be ready to adjust to the multiple coverages we’ll get.”
If the Eagles are going to be successful and leave with their long winning streak still intact, Blade said they will have to play up to their potential. They have struggled with that at times this season.
“At times we look really good, and at times we look really young and inexperienced,” he said. Most coaches are going to say that this time of the year, but with us getting so many young guys in there and replacing so many starters it’s just going to take a while to go through these growing pains, if you will.”
Centennial (1-1) vs. Dickson County (1-1), 7 p.m. Friday*
It was a long weekend for the Centennial Cougars in Week 2.
After keeping close with crosstown foe Independence on Friday, the Cougars came back after a postponement on Saturday and just couldn’t hold the Eagles down, losing 31-21.
Week 3 may offer an opportunity for Centennial to blow off some steam against Dickson County, a team the Cougars have beat the last three seasons by a combined 51 points.
Dickson County got its first win of the season in Week 2 after beating Columbia 55-40.
DCHS has looked like a strong offensive team so far, scoring 81 points in its first two games. However, on the defensive side of the ball, there have been some struggles that have led to opponents scoring 70 points through two weeks.
Centennial will hope to exploit Dickson’s struggles defensively with a rushing game led by John Carter (79 rush yds, 1 TD) and Zyon Lee (74 rush yds, 1 TD).
Quarterback Tre Stewart (315 pass yds, 4 TDs, 3 INTs) and wide receivers Austin Waddell (6 rec., 137 yds, 2 TDs) and Tavion Fleming (5 rec., 83 yds, 1 TD) lead passing attack.
