Bulldogs, Warriors to renew old rivalry

By: Rip Donovan
Journal sports correspondent
08-27-2008

Daniel Hammett After a four-year lull, Piedmont resumes one of its oldest football rivalries Friday night when the Bulldogs host the Cherokee County Warriors of nearby Centre. “It’s a game that just needs to be played. We’re 15 miles apart. There’s history. These are the kind of rivalry games you like to play,” said Piedmont coach Steve Smith of the series that dates back to 1925, Piedmont’s second year to field a team. Smith has an above average knowledge of the rivalry. A 1988 graduate of Cherokee County High, Smith played on Centre teams that both defeated and lost to Piedmont. Despite being a Cherokee County alumnus, Smith will be all blue and gold Friday. “There won’t be any kind of split feelings Friday night,” he assured. The Bulldogs got mixed marks after their 31-20 win over Randolph County in Friday’s jamboree game at Wedowee. “I thought at times we looked really, really good on defense, especially against the run. I was obviously disappointed about our pass defense,” Smith noted. “Offensively, we had a couple of long gainers. I was disappointed with the way we threw and caught the ball.” The big plays came on a long touchdown run by senior Coulter Green in the first quarter and a short pass into traffic that Marquise Diamond turned into a touchdown late in the second quarter. Diamond appeared to be surrounded by Randolph County players when he made the catch but eluded the first group of would-be tacklers and outran the second. “That was a nice indication of his burst that he can have,” said Smith of Diamond’s run. Several other individuals caught Smith’s eye. On the offensive line, Dustin Ray drew praise for his ability to sustain his blocks. Harrison Maddox had some dominating pancake blocks.

Terrick Spear On defense, linebacker Daniel Hammett “had an outstanding game.” Smith cited end Terrick Spear for his “hard-nosed, physical play” and was pleased with the push in the middle achieved by nose guard Demestress Jackson. “Wesley Minton had some nice highlight licks on defense” at linebacker according to Smith. The major negative from the jamboree was the injury sustained by senior Kirk Pope. The linebacker-wide receiver ruptured his spleen while making a tackle and underwent surgery to remove his spleen Saturday morning. “Kirk Pope’s a great kid,” said Smith. “You hate to see anybody get hurt but it’s doubly tough when it’s somebody who has worked as hard as he has.” Smith said recovery time for the type of surgery Pope underwent could be anywhere from four weeks to four months, depending on how long his body requires to heal the surgical incision. Cherokee County was 5-5 last year and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2000 season. Smith expects the Warriors will arrive hungry for a win. “I know they’ve got some playmakers at wide receiver and the Blanchard kid (Coty) is a great quarterback,” said Smith. Smith said Piedmont’s lapses on pass defense against Randolph County probably have the Warriors “salivating.” “I feel like we match up fine with them,” he continued. “We’ve just got to do a better job of covering and getting pressure on the quarterback – making them have to make a perfect throw and catch every time.” Smith’s overall reaction to the Randolph County game? “I expected us to be more crisp but all the issues we did have are correctible,” he said. “We’ll get those worked out and be ready to go Friday night.”

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