Memory of 3rd-round playoff loss still stings Eagles

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on November 7, 2013 1:48 PM

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rhanchett@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- Last year's loss in the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A state playoffs still stings for Rosewood.

Neither the players nor the coaches can forget that loss to archrival Princeton.

The Eagles can redeem themselves Friday evening.

"As coaches, we don't have to tell our guys to be excited for this game," Rosewood head coach Robert Britt said. "We have to play the game fundamentally sound and control the things that we can control."

Expect a shootout.

Rosewood averages 20 points a game offensively and gives up 31.9. Princeton scores 40.6 points a game and its defense allows 20.8.

"All of those stats are nice but they don't tend to mean a whole lot in a rivalry game like this one," Princeton head coach Derrick Minor said. "We need to play the game our way and not get to caught up in what our opponent is doing. We will have to keep the kids calmed down and focused."

There are no secrets between the rivals. The teams have played several common opponents and the coaches have had time to look at the film from previous games.

So what will it take to pull out a win?

The Bulldogs (7-3 overall, 4-1 CC) must run the ball effectively to set up the play-action pass and get ahead early. Junior tailback Johnny Frasier is the area's leading rusher with 2,168 yards and 30 touchdowns through 10 games.

"We showed last week (against Lakewood) that our offense can do a lot of things," Minor said. "Obviously, we would like to establish the ground game and get the momentum going in our favor. But if we need to turn to the pass, we have an experienced guy back there in Michael Wooten that can make plays."

If the Eagles (4-6, 2-3) want to pull off the upset they will have to limit Frasier's big plays, and force the Bulldogs into third-down and long situations. Rosewood's version of the Wing-T offense is better suited to play with the lead, so falling behind by multiple scores early in the game could spell disaster.

"One thing that a lot of teams have done (against Princeton) is try something that they don't normally do," Britt said. "For us, we are going to focus on gap assignments and sound tackling. We need to play our best ballgame from whistle to whistle on both sides of the ball."