Warrior defense faces balanced Firebirds offense

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 21, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

BAILEY -- The numbers haven't changed.

Neither has the athleticism.

Southern Nash head football coach Brian Foster understands there is no margin of error against an explosive offensive team like Eastern Wayne. His Firebirds learned that the hard way a year ago.

Five turnovers.

A bad snap on a punt.

Nearly 200 yards in penalties.

Those mistakes can't occur again or Southern Nash's postseason journey, for the second straight time, will come to a halt against the Warriors in second-round action of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A playoffs.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Firebird Stadium.

"It's definitely going to be a challenge," Foster said. "They do some good stuff, their kids play tremendously hard. They have speed, they have playmakers, they spread the field and you have to respect it.

"If you miss, you're not going to catch them."

Although 16 starters graduated, the Firebirds return five senior college prospects -- running back Grant Jones, linebacker Kendall Parker, defensive tackle Aramahs Martin, offensive lineman Ryan Ashley and defensive end Dylan Langley.

Jones leads a balanced double-tight, double-wing offense with 990 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 168 totes. He's joined in the backfield by junior Jaquay Mitchell, who has used his 4.6 speed to pile up 838 yards and six touchdowns.

Junior quarterback Zack Foster has thrown for nearly 1,300 yards.

"We have some of the backs in the backfield who were not there last year because of injuries," said Foster, whose team has won eight of its last nine games after a 1-2 start.

"Having them helps with a line that is not as experienced as we had last year. I am happy for them that they've stayed healthy and have been able to play this year."

Parker has logged an eye-popping 109 tackles and spearheads a defensive unit that has recorded 70 tackles for loss, 25 sacks and forced 20 turnovers. The fourth-seeded Firebirds (9-3) have held opponents to one touchdown or less this season.

Senior strong safety Daron Harris has recorded 60 stops, while sophomore linebacker Alex Puente has 50 tackles.

They'll go up against a Warrior offense that piled up nearly 400 yards of offense against Jacksonville last week. Quarterback KK Best rushed for 112 yards and threw for another 61 yards, while accounting for three touchdowns.

"They're better at running with the quarterback, which makes them quicker," Foster said. "He's good, can move and make a lot of people miss. Any time you have that, that's hard on a defense.

"You want to try to make them work the ball downfield and not give up the big play, but that's easier said than done when you play kids who have speed."

The fifth-seeded Warriors (9-2) and Firebirds are meeting on the gridiron for the sixth time. EW leads the series 3-2.