How long does it take for a matchup to become a rivalry?
For the Carroll Academy and Greenville St. Joseph football programs, the answer is a mere two years after they butted heads in the past couple of Class 3A semifinals.
Now the Rebels (3-1) and Irish meet (2-1) for the first time as divisional foes in the District 2-4A opener Friday night in Greenville.
“We had really great ball games that could have gone either way, and we split,” seventh-year CA head coach Bo Milton said of his two games against St. Joe. “So I think there’s some of that tied to this, and now being in the same district just makes it very interesting. It’s going to be a fun game.”
The Irish ended the Rebels’ season with a 20-18 playoff defeat back in 2019 before CA returned the favor and sent St. Joe home last year, 15-6.
The stakes are slightly lower in their first-ever meeting during the regular season, but memories of last November’s loss are likely still fresh in the minds of the Irish.
“I think we’re going to have to play our best game this year,” Milton said.
The Rebels have been building momentum since suffering a 20-8 loss to Kirk on Aug. 27. They picked up a road victory over Magnolia Heights two weeks ago and ran away with a 42-0 rout of Clinton Christian last week.
Milton identified two keys this week to taking down a strong St. Joe squad coming off a 32-14 win at Indianola Academy.
“You can’t give up the big play,” Milton said. “They’ll run here, they’ll throw there, but they make chunk plays — big plays out of nothing. The quarterback scrambles and makes a big throw. Even when they had (Mississippi State sophomore running back) Dillon Johnson, they’d make these big plays, so you got to limit those chunk plays.”
On the side of the ball, Milton said his offensive line needs to control the trenches enough to get the Rebels
“I think our offensive line vs. their defensive line is a big key,” he added. “Can we control the front and be who we are running the football?”
After leading the state in interceptions last season, junior cornerback Noah Beck hasn’t seen a ton of action this year as opposing teams have largely avoided throwing in his direction. This week, Milton expects the toughest test yet for his star in the secondary.
“They really haven’t thrown a whole lot at (Beck),” Milton said. “I think that’ll probably change this week. I don’t think St. Joe is going to back down from what they do —they’re going to go down the field. So he’s just going to have to be ready to play his game.”
- Contact Riley Overend at 662-581-7237 or roverend@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow @OverendOut on Twitter.
