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LCHS at McIntosh County
It's the kickoff
PanthersPrep
Panthers’ head coach Kirk Warner and offensive coordinator Steve Cotrell go over-last minute drills with the team. - photo by Phgoto by Patty Leon
The Panthers look to pounce on the Buccaneers as they travel to Darien for the season opening game. Kickoff is set for 7:30 tonight, but the coaching staff of Liberty County High School got an opportunity to see what McIntosh could do when they visited Olvey field this past week and scrimmaged the Bradwell Tigers.
Head coach Kirk Warner and defensive coordinator Thomas Desbiens said they noticed a key player for the Buccaneers who needs to be contained.
“Jeremy Height is McIntosh’s playmaker. If we don’t stop him, we’ve got a long night ahead of us,” Desbiens said. Warner said Height was a top-notch running back and agreed that if he were not contained it may make for a long night of football for the Panthers. Warner described Height as strong and very slippery.
But while Height may be a concern,  Warner and his staff feel  secure in knowing they are prepared as long as they concentrate and remain focused.
“I think we are going to be physically and mentally prepared,” Steve Cotroll, offensive coordinator, said. “We watched film on them and we have thrown every front they could possibly throw at us. Now it’s just a matter of going out there and staying focused on the game. “Our front five can handle anybody we are going to see this season in our region. A lot of these guys have paid their dues and have been in the battle. If we don’t panic and stick with the game plan, that will be the key to Friday night’s game,” he said.
Desbiens said he would also focus on throwing off the Buccaneers’ quarterback. “We noticed that their quarterback, Knox Robinson, has a great short-passing game so we are going to force him to throw long, put some pressure on him, force the turnovers and the long pass,” he said.
Offensively, the Panthers will start their senior quarterback, Henry Barrett. Warner also said backup quarterback Julian Stokes is ready should there be a need to put him in the game. The Panthers also have a four-man rotation in wide receivers Paul Davis, Nolan Lowe, Quinton Harris and Eric Holloway.
While their starters are ready to go, Warner continues to look in developing the depth of his players.
“We have been working on our backup players,” he said. “We know who our starters are but we’ve got to develop our back ups. We have to get them used to the heat, used to the grind of a real game situation. And that is what we are trying to simulate in practice so our starters don’t have to go the full game. We know it’s going to be hot and muggy Friday night so we are working our backups a little extra because they may have to pull more reps than they normally would.”
Warner said his team is in it for the long haul and they plan to bring their A game to win and are currently working real hard toward that goal.
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