ScoutSouth.com: Pike County at Cordova

Not a lot needs to be said about this game. It has enough hype, it has great players playing on both sides on the field, and it pits two very good coaches against the other. But, just for fun lets take a look at it anyway.

Pike County is coming off a run to the 3A state title a year ago, and so far they have been able to hold serve this season going undefeated through 12 games thus far. It's no secret they're looking to repeat as the class 3A champ.

That has been the topic of discussion shortly following last season's title run, and it is still the focus of the this team heading into what promises as their toughest challenge of the season to this point.

While Pike County is explosive on offense, with running back Darrell Reynolds finally healthy again. The challenge to stop this offense just becomes that much harder, and the Cordova Blue Devils realize the task at hand.

Cordova's Tim Simon talks about the game.
Darrell Reynolds), No.2 (Janta Carlton) and No.4 (CC Griffin) are all good with the ball in their hands. The quarterback (Blake Beacham) is also good."

"We'll need to play a solid game on defense, but this is the game we've been waiting for."

While Pike County certainly has their share of talent Cordova doesn't exactly enter the game handicapped. The Blue Devils have been a big play team all season and are usually so far out in front at halftime they can cruise the rest of the way home. This is not the case this week as Pike County comes to visit "the Pit."

Tim Simon, Ryan Smith and Rico Everett are the big playmakers for the Blue Devils, and Pike County's Darrell Reynolds talks about what it will take to stop the talented trio.

"Our coaches have been telling us all week if we stop Simon and their quarterback we will be in good shape," Reynolds said. "We've watched a lot of film of them, and they have a lot of big plays. We need to limit their big plays by keeping everything in front of us. If they get behind you they're too fast to run down."

While the two offensive squads are the electrifying part of this match-up the defenses are also very solid, and could be the deciding factor in the game Friday. We asked both Darrell Reynolds of Pike County, and Tim Simon of Cordova about the defenses.

Darrell Reynolds on Cordova's defense: "They run the the ball real well. They have a lot of team speed on defense, and they persue very hard. I also noticed they create a lot of turnovers with interceptions and fumbles. When they intercept the ball they usually make a big play, like returning it for a touchdown. It will be a challenge, but we believe we have some things they haven't seen this season."

Tim Simon on the Pike County defense: "Again, they look good everywhere. We just can't be intimidated by them, and we can't get too high emotionally in the early part of the game, or this week leading up to the game. Our coaches have been telling us not to get all hyped up about the game, that we had to play with controled emotion so we don't run out of gas in the game."

You can see these two talented running backs Friday night in Cordova. They'll bring a few teammates along who aren't half bad, either.

ScoutSouth.com--Your source for Alabama high school football.

Support great high school football coverage by subscribing to ScoutSouth.com for as little as $6.95 a month which includes all premium content across the Scout.com network and all video. Join here.

(return to front page here)