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| Miami (Ohio) commit Kyle Bryant recorded 2 sacks in Friday's shutout win over Alcovy. |
Grovetown (1-0) at Greenbrier (1-0)
Class 6A, Region 3
Grovetown and Greenbrier, opponents in this Friday's class 6A, region 3 showdown to decide which of the two teams will leap to 2-0 in region play, share many characteristics. Both teams are led by their defense. Both played difficult non region schedules and struggled to find wins, but both put those early season challenges to good use by kicking off the region schedule last Friday with a win. The schools even share a common road that both schools' students use to get to class every morning, something Grovetown coach Damien Postell reminded me about Monday morning at his team's practice.
"I mean it's big. It's the battle of William Few (Parkway)," coach Postell explained. "It's always a tough game. We're just trying to hold on to that sledgehammer another year."
That's what the annual contest between these region rivals from Columbia County is called by those involved. Each season the winning team gets to keep the sledgehammer, which has "Grovetown" written on one side, and "Greenbrier" on the other, until the next year when it goes back up for grabs. Grovetown has won 7 straight games in the series after the Wolfpack claimed the first game between the teams. And to add more sting, Grovetown's star running back, senior JQ Brown, was the star rusher for Greenbrier last season and the season before that. Brown and defensive back Tyler Mullins both transferred after their junior year from Greenbrier to Grovetown.
If an inter county rivalry game with a special name and a special prize, with the adder that a couple key players recently transferred from one of the teams to the other, doesn't have enough to interest you, then just add the fact that the winner will take sole possession, or at the least a share, of first place in the region standings two games into a five game schedule. And did I mention the game will be televised on MeTV?
If you aren't in front of a TV Friday night, you can still keep up with the game by watching @AugBball and the CSRA All Star Week's bonus coverage on social media because this is the kind of game we set out to bring you throughout October's region race and beyond.
No matter how you watch Friday's game, you can expect to see a scrappy Wolfpack defense that has forced turnovers at a high rate all season long:
Greenbrier defense in 6 games: 8 fumble recoveries, 4 interceptions, 2 touchdowns. Wake ‘em up!— Ayden Panzella (@official_ayden) October 7, 2018
Grovetown's Defensive Front
It's easy to see by looking at Grovetown's defensive front why so many people are impressed by the team's potential on that side of the ball. Kyle Bryant (pictured at the top), a six foot three inch, 238 pound defensive end who has committed to Miami (Ohio), has recorded 5.5 sacks through 6 games. And the teammates to his side are equally prolific at making stops behind the line of scrimmage:
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| Jeremiah Williams (6'0" 295 lbs) - 11 tackles for a loss this season |
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| Simeon Barrow Jr. (6'3" 235 lbs) - 16 TFL, 6 sacks through 6 games |
Bryant rightfully expressed the highest confidence in his defensive unit when I asked him Monday if he thought his defense could shut down the offenses they will face going forward:
"Yes sir, straight domination the rest of the season," Bryant said. "That's the plan."
This defense is more than just talk, as you can see here:
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