The farther you go, the tougher they get.
That’s how Dillon coach Jackie Hayes described the playoff road in Class 2A, and he had the Wildcats’ next opponent in mind.
Dillon will square off Friday against Manning in the Class 2A lower state semifinals at Dillon Memorial Stadium.
It’s the first meeting between the two squads since the 2004 Class 3A lower state championship won by Dillon, 28-0.
“We came up with a big win Saturday against Silver Bluff, and now we face an outstanding football team in Manning,” Hayes said. “They bring a lot of different weapons to the table.”
Monarchs’ running back Jason Witherspoon is a perennial 1,000-yard rusher. Wideout Marcus Lloyd has more than 1,000 yards receiving in the past two seasons. Junior quarterback Brandon Miller has combined for more than 1,000 yards rushing and passing.
“They can power you, they can option you or they can throw the ball,” Hayes said. “The main thing is we just have to keep them under control and keep them from making big plays.”
Against Silver Bluff, the Wildcats threw the ball 28 times and ran it 34 times. That kind of balance will be crucial against the Monarchs, Hayes said.
Manning’s last win against Dillon came in 1998. If the Monarchs are going to pull off the upset, turnovers will play a key role, coach Robbie Briggs said.
“I don’t have the exact number, but I know Dillon’s scored a lot of points with (its) defense, and they’ve set up a lot of scores with the defense,” Briggs said.
“They’ve done that as good as any team I’ve seen in high school football.”
Offensively, the Wildcats are similar to the Monarchs in that they rely on a hard-nosed running attack complemented by a dual-threat quarterback and an assortment of skill position players, Briggs said.
“They make you defend the entire field,” he said. “You can’t key on one thing. It sounds cliche, but you have to play assignment football and you have to play for four quarters.”
Manning’s win in 1998 is the only time the Monarchs have beaten the Wildcats in Dillon.
“It’s always a good thing to play in front of the home crowd,” Hayes said. “We have a good tradition at Dillon, and I think it gives the kids a little more incentive, too.”
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement