First Presbyterian Christian Academy didn’t play football Friday. The team entered its bye-week looking at a 0-2 start. But the Highlanders have an opportunity to turn things around Friday.
FPCA’s first home game of the season at Long Bell Stadium will face a school that is just getting football underway as well.
The Georgia Christian Generals have not fielded a football team in 46 years. However, they are already 1-1 in their re-established program.
The Generals come from Valdosta, an area with a winning football tradition and a wealthy pool of talent.
“I would like to think that it would give us the edge,” Highlander coach Jamie Sharp Jr. said about the possibility of getting the Highlanders’ first win of the program against a newly established team. “But at the same time…with them not having a football team in a long time yet having the heritage…and being able to bring the football team back…they are going to have a lot of pride and they will want to come in here and get a win.
“They feel they can get a win against us because we are also new and an upstart…we are going to have to respect them, just we would Memorial Day or any other team we play this season.”
Much like the Highlanders, the Generals have a small roster and will have to adapt to continuous changes on the field and sidelines, should injuries or illness occurs.
“We are battling…not just on the field but off too. We are having to deal with a few injuries… With the bye week, I think it will give them time to heal so when we play our first home game we should have mostly everybody back,” Sharp added.
The Highlanders have avoided shutouts so far and the coach thinks the extra week will give them a chance to fine tune things.
“We need to become more in tune to our offense and our defense,” the coach said. “We haven’t set up properly and this bye week will gives us some time to work out the details, to work on the small things that will make our offense and defense run better.”