Oak Grove comes off its bye week as one of the most talked-about teams in 6A after dominating its first two games of the year.
The Warriors hope to maintain that trend as Oak Grove opens region play against George County.
The Rebels have struggled early on in the season and are still trying to pick up their first win.
Offensively, George County (0-2) has averaged just 17.5 points to start the year. Their running back and quarterback primarily highlight the Rebels’ spread offense. The combination of George County’s running back and quarterback makes the Rebels’ run game a constant threat.
“They are a spread team,” Oak Grove coach Drew Causey said. “Their quarterback and running back stand out more than anybody else. Both guys can take one a long distance for a touchdown. You have to really key in on both those guys (especially) the quarterback runs, and things like that. They definitely can concern you.”
On the season, George County’s quarterback, MJ Daniels who is a dual-threat player, who has passed for 205 yards and a touchdown while running for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Complimenting him in the backfield is running back Trenton Howell, who has rushed for 223 yards and two touchdowns while also hauling in five catches for 54 yards.
“George County has some good weapons,” Causey said. “We have to definitely worry about that quarterback. Their running back is really talented and is as fast as lightning.
“Both of them are extremely fast and athletic. The multitude of formations they run can cause you problems with knowing where the running back is a lot of times. (The running back) is such a big play guy and the quarterback as well. If (Daniels) drops back to pass and nobody is open, he is still capable of making one guy miss and score from a long way off. It’s a big concern of making sure we keep them contained.”
On defense, George County runs a 3-front defense. The highlight of the Rebel defense is their secondary, which features Daniels, who has one interception on the year. At cornerback, Daniels is a four-star recruit and is verbally committed to Mississippi State.
“They run a 3-down front,” Causey said. “Their quarterback will also play defensive back. He is extremely talented and picked off two balls against us last year. The secondary is probably the strength of what they do, and they just have a lot of talent back there. You just kind of have to be smart with the football.”
According to Causey, his team’s main concern is making sure that his team improves on itself as it moves into district play.
“For us, we’re focusing on what we do and how we can get better this week,” Causey said. “I feel like if we continue to improve each week, then we’ll have a chance to be a good football team at the end of the season. That’s kind of us. We are just going to worry about blocking, tackling and covering people and just try and improve on that.”
