James Kenan - Midway set for Warsaw showdown

By Ryan Hanchett and Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 16, 2008 1:46 PM

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The story lines sound like just another typical week in the world that is James Kenan football.

The defending state 1-AA champion Tigers are still undefeated, still No. 1 in the latest Associated Press prep poll and will play host to unbeaten -- and No. 7-ranked -- Midway on Friday evening at Bill Taylor Field.

Big games, whether regular season or postseason, seem to be the norm for James Kenan (7-0 overall) at this point. The Tigers have already faced Pender in a rematch of last season's state semifinals along with East Duplin and Lakewood, both of which advanced to the playoffs a year ago.

"I think it definitely helps us. We've had several big non-conference games early in the year," said James Kenan head coach Ken Avent Jr. "But, I think once you kick off that really doesn't matter. They understand it's a big game and our kids understand it's a big game."

Offensively, the Tigers will have to find a way to stay on the field. James Kenan rushed for over 250 yards in last week's win over Lakewood. Quarterback Shawon Darden tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Dasmine Smith.

Darden has thrown for 950 yards and 10 touchdowns this season while completing 60 percent of his passes. The senior signal caller will need to continue those trends against a stingy Raider defense.

Maintaining offensive balance while keeping the defense resting on the sidelines will be key for James Kenan. Midway (7-0, 1-0 Super Six) uses a bruising running game to control the clock and set up its play-action passing attack.

"Offensively, they score a lot of points," said Avent Jr. "They really pound you and try to establish a running game, and control the clock. We may have to throw it some offensively and I think that will be a key."

Midway head coach Paul Hall says the week leading up to the annual showdown with James Kenan means one thing -- preparation.

"We are the underdogs, and we know that," said Hall. "We feel like we played them pretty tough last year, but we also know that it's going to take all of that effort plus some to win this year."

The Raiders are off to a hot start, but Hall knows that those hard fought victories do not mean much when his team steps into the Tigers' den.

"They haven't lost yet, and we haven't lost yet so it should be a well-played game," said Hall. "We have been telling the kids that this is just one game in the course of our season, but we know how important it is."

Midway handled fellow Super Six member Union last week.

As an added bonus, the already-potent Raider offense will get quarterback Gibby Allen back at 100 percent health. Allen sat out the final three quarters against Union with a mild ankle sprain.

"We may actually start our number two quarterback Jonathan Poole because he has been taking most of the reps in practice," said Hall. "But with that said, Gibby Allen is feeling better and will certainly play at some point."

While the Raiders have the league's top-scoring offense, it's defense allows 12 points per outing.