Knights, Tornadoes looking for improvement
By By Marty Stamper / staff writer
September 2, 2004
While it won't count in any league standings, Friday's football game at Collinsville between West Lauderdale and Philadelphia should help both teams learn a lot about themselves.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
West opened with a 55-20 rout of Clarkdale last Thursday, while Philadelphia turned a 3-0 halftime lead into a 40-0 blowout of Choctaw Central on Friday.
The Tornadoes are expected to win the Division 5-2A championship, while many predict the Knights will battle Forest for the Division 5-3A crown.
Philadelphia took a 7-6 win last year at Philadelphia when the Knights missed an extra point and had a field goal blocked as time ran out.
This year's game should be another thriller.
"It's going to be a tough one," West Lauderdale seventh-year head coach Stan McCain (37-32) said. "We had our chances there last year, we just couldn't pull it out.
"I hope it's a close game again this year for our sake. They're big and strong and are pretty much a senior-laden team. They've got quite a few good-looking seniors and a couple good-looking juniors too.
"They're huge."
The Tornadoes were their own worst enemy in the early going last week. Philadelphia was penalized 11 times in the first half against Choctaw Central, but drew only three flags in the second half in racking up 37 points over the final 24 minutes.
"We fiddled around the first half and didn't do very much," Philadelphia first-year head coach Brian Anderson said. "We had a good first half, we just had too many penalties.
"West Lauderdale has got a good, solid football team. They're big and strong and physical. They've got a couple of good running backs. I know they'll be well-prepared and well-coached."
Anderson credited Jeremy Holmes, Jeremy Boler, Talmer Burnside, Anthony Gray, and quarterback/kicker Porter Jordan with good outings in their 2004 debut.
"They had really good ballgames," Anderson said. "Porter is a good solid football player and a team leader for us."
Scott Truesdale had a good opener for the Knights, rushing for over 100 yards and catching a 45-yard touchdown pass.
"He had a great game," McCain said of his fullback. "Defensively, Frank Harmon played pretty well. He graded out the highest of all the defensive linemen. He's a senior that hasn't played with us in two or three years.
"Cory Williams ran one punt back and had about 160 yards in returns. He did real well in the kicking game.
"We were pretty solid all the way across. I thought the offensive line started off slow, but they came on and did some good things."
Both coaches realize they're facing tougher opposition this week than they did in their openers.
"I think it will tell a great deal about both of us this week," McCain said. "I think we're going to have a pretty good team and I know they've got a good team."
"They've definitely got a good football team," Anderson said. "Stan does a great job. We've got to step up and play well to have a chance. It should be a good game."
Philadelphia has never lost to the Knights, winning each of the seven previous meetings.
"That's in the back of our minds," McCain said. "We'd like to beat them at least one time.
"We feel like we've got a shot and I know they feel like they've got the upper hand, which they've had in the past. When you beat somebody as much as they've been beating us, you kinda get confident.
"I've got a lot of respect for Philadelphia. Brian is coming in and doing a good job with that bunch. I could just tell the enthusiasm that they had last week down on the sideline. They just looked like they were having a lot of fun."
