Eagles to face top-ranked Brantley (Throwback Thursday)

Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 3, 2015

Editor’s note: This article is part of our “Throwback Thursday” series. This article is from our Sept. 8, 2006 files.

After making some noise with last week’s impressive 19-13 victory over 2A Samson, Pleasant Home will travel to Brantley tonight trying to extend their win streak with a victory over the No. 1 ranked Bulldogs.

It won’t be an easy task.

“Brantley is fast,” said Pleasant Home coach Jimmy Reeves. “They have so much speed on that team that it should be against the law. They can run the ball, they can throw the ball and they are most dangerous when their punt return unit takes the field.”

Last week, Brantley routed Elba 49-0. The punt return unit that Reeves mentioned returned three punts for touchdowns and also blocked a punt in the victory. However, the Eagles will be ready for the challenge after a good practice on Wednesday.

“The first two days of the week weren’t too good because school was out and it was hard to get the guys to focus,” Reeves said. “They came out prepared on Wednesday and we are really happy about that.”

Though the Eagles put on a nice offensive and defensive performance of their own last week, led by Clark Sanders and his 202 yards and a stingy defense that held Samson in check when it counted, this will be the most difficult match up for Pleasant Home this season.

“This game is such a mismatch because of all the athletes that Brantley has,” Reeves said. “To counter that advantage, we have worked on our angles, cut backs and boxing up. We are going to need five or six people to get to the ball defensively every play to compete.”

Reeves said that the Eagles must control the ball offensively and keep Brantley’s speedy offense off the field. A great defensive performance will also be needed, but thankfully, that was an area that the team has excelled at so far.

“Our defense played good the entire game last week,” Reeves said. “Our offense also managed to control the line of scrimmage for three quarters before getting tired.”

The team worked hard this week on conditioning and hold on to the football, two things Reeves felt the team didn’t do well against Samson.

However, coming off an emotional victory can really benefit this Eagles squad.

They shouldn’t be counted out.