Clinton Gatewood is expecting an old-fashioned slobber-knocker.
“Both teams like to pound the ball. I expect it to come down to whose line can hold up the best,” said the Greenwood head coach, whose team squares off with Itawamba AHS in the second round of the 4A playoffs Friday night in Greenwood. “There is no real secret what both teams want to do. It’s going to be big-boy football.”
The winner advances to the third round next week to face Friday’s Louisville-Senatobia winner.
The Bulldogs (9-2) are coming off a 42-23 first-round win over New Albany and are hungry to advance much further after a disappointing 35-14 loss to Pontotoc in the second round last year.
“A lot of our guys played in that game last year, and they remember that feeling of being sent home before you are ready to go,” Gatewood said. “That’s a good thing because they understand playoff football — win and survive, or lose and go home.”
The Indians (10-2), the No. 2 seed from Region 2, roll into Greenwood at 10-2 after winning 17-14 in a hard-fought battle last week against Kosciusko. IAHS is led by the running back duo of Jamal Shumpert and Ike Chandler. Those two are the catalysts to an offense that is averaging 34.5 points per contest — the most of any team in the North 4A ranks.
Itawamba’s two losses have come at the hands of Houston (21-13) and Pontotoc (28-16).
The Indians and Bulldogs have one common opponent — New Albany. Itawamba beat New Albany 58-52 in the second week of the season.
That score may raise a few eyebrows among GHS fans since New Albany was no match for the Bulldogs last week, but Gatewood said no one should read too much into just one game.
“It’s going to be a tough game for us. They are all tough this time of year,” he said.
The Bulldogs, the five-time reigning Region 3 champs, enter Friday riding a five-game win streak. They will counter the Indians’ two-headed monster at running back with a defense that is allowing just 17.9 points a game — the third fewest among teams in the North 4A.
The Dog defense is allowing a mere 12.2 points per game during this win streak.
“We feel like we’ve got some guys along our defensive front who are up for the challenge,” Gatewood said.
Offensively, Greenwood will again rely on its ground-and-pound running attack that is led by a line that averages 6 feet, 3 inches and 285 pounds.
Walter Ivory has been the workhorse although fellow running back Lavell Nelson has proven he is a dangerous threat also. Ivory has 206 carries for 1,516 yards after a season-high 186 yards against New Albany last week. Quarterback Jaylen Stanley has a team-high 12 rushing touchdowns.
If Itawamba tries to load the box to stop the GHS run, Stanley (46-of-91 for 889 yards) is more than capable of making the Indians pay with his arm, especially with dangerous targets like Kobe Chambers and Carldaryl Johnson on the outside.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
