AHS, UMS commence battle of the Bulldogs
Published 12:00 am Friday, August 28, 2015
After a thrilling win over T.R. Miller to open the season, the Andalusia Bulldogs will look to carry that momentum in to this week when U.M.S. Wright comes to town.
Last week, the Bulldogs took a trip over to Brewton, and left town after throttling the Tigers 25-0.
This will be the 12th time that two Bulldogs have collided on the gridiron, but Andalusia has never been able to beat U.M.S.
“Obviously, they are very well coached,” Bulldogs’ coach Trent Taylor said. “He has been there for more than 25 years and he has his system in place. They returned a lot of kids from last year’s team. They have a very good linebacker returning.”
On offense last week, Andalusia did most of its damage on the ground behind the legs of Jamal Hourel, James Montgomery and Taylor Griffin.
Griffin completed a few passes last week, but the throwing was limited because of sloppy field conditions.
There is a chance of rain for tomorrow as well, but Taylor said that the Bulldogs will be prepared.
“If the conditions are ok, we might throw the ball a bit more,” Taylor said. “We are a run first type offense. That is our style, but we aren’t so stubborn that if they are stacking nine guys in the box that we won’t throw it.”
Taylor said that the Bulldogs’ receivers have been a pleasant surprise for the coaching staff.
“Coming into the season, we weren’t sure what we had out there,” Taylor said. “But they have turned into a bright spot for us. We just didn’t know how good we could be at that position.”
Another thing that the Bulldogs worked on this week was special teams. Last week, the Bulldogs struggled to convert extra-points, but the sloppy field had a lot to do with that.
“We spent the week trying to correct mistakes from last week,” Taylor said. “We are still in the learning process. Most teams had a spring camp and a fall camp, but we have just been together for four weeks. The kids are responding really well, though.”
Defensively, Andalusia will come right at U.M.S., and continue to put pressure in the backfield.
In the win over T.R. Miller, the Andalusia defense was the most dominant force on the field. The front line and the linebackers torched the offensive line, and set up a permanent camp in the Tigers’ backfield.
Taylor said that U.M.S. will run more of a zone read this year than they have in the past, but they will still be based out of the I-formation.
“So far this year, I’ve seen them running more zone read than before,” Taylor said. “They are getting their quarterback involved more in the offense. He is an athletic quarterback, who is quick and elusive. They will make us play assignment football.”
Andalusia will host U.M.S. Wright tonight, and kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
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