After leading Laney to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2016, second-year head coach Ronnie Baker has relied on a time tested strategy to help the Wildcats sprint to their first 2-0 start since 2007 with impressive wins against Strom Thurmond and Hephzibah.
“Our game plan offensively is to run the ball,” Baker explained in a phone interview Saturday before settling in to watch Georgia’s season opener. “And vice versa, our defensive plan is to stop the run, number one, and make you one dimensional. And once we make you one dimensional, in the passing game we just have to get after the quarterback, and make plays in the back end.”
Baker’s team executed that plan nearly to perfection to grab a 26-17 road win over Hephzibah in week two. On Hephzibah’s first series of both the first and third quarter, the Wildcats stuffed the run, forced the Rebels to take to the air and intercepted a pass to set up touchdowns that helped keep Laney ahead on the scoreboard for all but two minutes of game time.
Creating six total turnovers and forcing Hephzibah’s highly regarded senior quarterback Jalen Patrick to throw three interceptions speaks highly for Laney’s defensive front. The unit is led by linemen Chance Bush, a 5-foot-9-inch tall, 280-pound junior, Kalon Curry, a 6-foot-3-inch tall, 205-pound senior, Greg Grace, 6-foot-tall, 265-pound senior, and James Pride, 5-foot-11-inch, 240-pound sophomore. That group, which also helps power the running game on the other side of the ball, transformed itself physically during the offseason with a deliberate approach to strength training. The resulting progress has given cause for optimism that the Wildcats can finish the non-region portion of its schedule undefeated with a win this Friday at home against First Presbyterian Day School of the Georgia Independent Athletic Association.
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“The biggest advantage you can have in any game is up front,” Baker shared about what he has learned as a coordinator at both the high school and college level. “The team with the best offensive line and the best defensive line usually is the team that comes out on top.
“We had a set of kids coming back this year that I thought had a tremendous amount of potential. And it’s my job as a head coach to push that as far as possible. So when we lost in the playoffs last year, all my attention immediately went to getting better. And the biggest thing I witnessed and learned from last year is that we had to get more physical. And the way we get more physical is by getting bigger, faster and stronger.”
Curry, whose listed weight shot up by 15 pounds from his junior to his senior season, personified the “bigger, faster and stronger” transformation in one memorable play in the red zone against Hephzibah. Curry came off the edge in pursuit of running back Telly Johnson, who appeared to be taking a handoff from Patrick in the back field. Patrick, a particularly mobile quarterback who rarely gets tackled by the first or second defender, read Curry’s pursuit of Johnson and pulled the ball to run around the right end, appearing to be on his way for a big gain. But Curry planted, turned and chased down Patrick to tackle him before he made it far. Senior Cameron Marshall intercepted Patrick’s pass in the end zone on the very next snap.
During the win against Hephzibah, Curry recorded seven tackles, three for a loss; Grace added six tackles, a tackle for a loss and a sack; Bush tacked on another two tackles for a loss and a sack; and Pride added three more tackles for a loss.
Those same four players, along with others like center Ma’Chi Gatling-Hall, a 5-foot-11-inch tall, 284-pound sophomore, and tackle John Ashley a 6-foot-5-inch tall, 284-pound senior, help make Laney’s running game go on the other side of the ball. Junior CJ Holmes rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown against Hephzibah. And James Pride, who moves from the defensive line to the offensive backfield with Holmes in Laney’s wishbone set, rushed for 71 yards and three touchdowns against the Rebels. Laney’s ability to also control the line of scrimmage on offense allowed the Wildcats to run more than twice as many plays as Hephzibah (28 to 12) during the second half while Laney nursed a lead.
Coach Baker explained how that’s very much part of the overall plan:
“The offensive attack is geared around the players that we have. The biggest thing is putting the players in the best position to be successful. The second thing is the team that runs the ball for the most yards usually wins the game. So we’re trying to focus on both of those aspects of winning football. The good teams – NFL, college, high school – all the good teams have certain characteristics. And the number one characteristic is they’re able to run the football, control the clock, control the line of scrimmage. That’s what we’re trying to build in this program… You know, I know there’s been a lot said about us running the wishbone because it’s like “old fashioned football.” But that, in my mind, just gives us the best opportunity to be successful in the run game. It gives us the mentality of being physical up front. The kids have bought into it. And it’s been good for us so far this year.”
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Laney will have another chance to employ that winning formula this Friday at home against First Presbyterian (1-1) before region play begins the following week and Thomson comes to “the Boulevard” on Sept. 16.
Week 4 Schedule and Picks
Evans (2-0) at #10 Burke County (2-0)
Pick: Burke County
River Bluff (3-0) at South Aiken (1-2)
Pick: River Bluff
Greenwood (0-3) at North Augusta (1-2)
Pick: Greenwood
First Presbyterian (1-1) at Laney (2-0)
Pick: Laney
#4 Barnwell (3-0) at Orangeburg-Wilkinson (1-2)
Pick: Barnwell
Midland Valley (2-1) at Harlem (2-1)
Pick: Harlem
Hephzibah (2-1) at Tattnall County (1-1)
Pick: Hephzibah
Greenbrier (0-3) at Lakeside (1-1)
Pick: Lakeside
East Laurens (0-2) at Richmond Academy (2-1)
Pick: Richmond
Dodge County (1-2) at #6 Swainsboro (3-0)
Pick: Swainsboro
GMC (0-3) at #2 Washington-Wilkes (2-0)
Pick: Washington-Wilkes
Augusta Christian (2-1) at Bethlehem Christian (3-0)
Pick: Augusta Christian
#1 Bambert-Ehrhardt (2-1) at Blackville-Hilda (0-2)
Pick: Bambert-Ehrhardt
Baldwin (0-3) at Washington County (0-2)
Pick: Washington County
Glenn Hills (1-2) at Josey (1-1) – Thursday
Pick: Josey
Savannah (0-3) at Butler (1-1)
Pick: Butler
Clinton (3-0) at Aiken (0-3)
Pick: Clinton
Brentwood (2-1) at Thomas Jefferson Academy (2-0)
Pick: Brentwood
Piedmont Academy (0-2) at Augusta Prep (0-2)
Pick: Augusta Prep
Wagener-Salley (1-2) at Swansea (1-1)
Pick: Swansea
Briarwood (1-1) at Robert Toombs (1-2)
Pick: Briarwood
Westminster (0-2) at John Hancock Academy (1-1)
Pick: Westminster
Jenkins County (2-1) at Cross Creek (0-2)
Pick: Jenkins County
Williston-Elko (0-2) at Branchville (0-2)
Pick: Williston-Elko
Toombs County (2-0) at Jefferson County (0-2)
Pick: Toombs County
