The 2022 season has come down to one game for the Region 1-AAAAA championship.
Top-ranked Ware County (8-0 overall, 4-0 region) travels Friday to Douglas to face fourth-ranked Coffee High (8-1, 4-0) inside Jardine Stadium in the biggest game in Class 5A.
The Gators are trying for back-to-back region titles and their third in four years under head coach Jason Strickland. Coffee is going after its first region championship since 2015.
“They (Trojans) are really good,” said Gators’ head coach Jason Strickland. “They do a lot of things at a high level. It’s going to take our best game of the year Friday night because they are clicking on all cylinders right now.”
Friday’s showdown is the 58th between the two in a series that began in 1962. Ware County went 4-3-1 against the then Coffee County Comets. The Trojans nickname and change to Coffee High came along in 1970. They hold a 28-21 lead in the series.
The regular season finale pits two high-powered offenses against two of the stingiest defenses in 5A. Coffee leads the classification in scoring at a 43.67 clip while the Gators lead the classification in defensive scoring at 7.1 points per game. The Ware County offense is in the Top 10 in scoring at 36.25 points a game while the Trojans are third defensively at 9.4 points per game.
The two teams have one common non-region foe to go along with four inside the six-team region with the same result — a win.
They each beat Richmond Hill (20-7 WCHS; 51-17 CHS), Jenkins (42-14 WCHS; 42-7 CHS), Bradwell Institute (48-0 WCHS; 42-13 CHS), Greenbrier (44-0 WCHS; 48-0 CHS), and Statesboro (59-7 WCHS; 35-3 CHS).
Coffee is led by first-year head coach Mike Coe, who enjoyed success at Madison County High School in Madison, Fla., going 135-26 in 12 seasons. Coe, a member of the FACA (Florida Athletic Coaches Association) Hall of Fame, led the Cowboys to four state titles (Class A) in his last five seasons before taking the Coffee job.
The Trojans enter the game averaging 386 yards a game with 274.9 coming on the ground on 37.6 carries. They have rushed for better than 255 yards eight times with a season-low 174 yards coming against Bradwell Institute while operating on a short field.
Coffee has scored at least three rushing touchdowns in every game with a total of 38 on the season.
“They (Trojans) try to bludgeon you to death with their running game,” state Strickland. “They are as good at running the ball as anybody we’ve faced. They run out of a heavy set personnel package and dress up their running schemes with motion. They also have an option game.
“They don’t pass the ball a lot, but when they do it is effective and lethal. It’s done out of play-action and their quarterback is special.”
Junior Maurice Hansley (5-foot-11, 180 lbs.) directs the high-flying offense. He’s completed 72 percent of his passes for 969 yards with nine touchdowns against one interception. He’s the fourth-leading rusher and has two scores.
Senior Antwain McDuffie (5-10, 185) and junior Fred Brown (5-10, 200) lead the ground attack and each has scored 12 times. McDuffie leads the team with 733 yards (6.5 per carry) while Brown has 529 yards (8.3 per carry). Sophomore Tyrese Woodgett (5-8, 175) has 463 yards and four scores.
Seniors Bill Simpson (6-foot, 175) and Keshad Turner (5-10, 150) are the only players with double-digit receptions amongst the 12 receivers with a catch. Simpson averages 21.4 yards on his 16 receptions with four touchdowns. Turner is averging 14 yards on 10 catches with two scores.
“We’ve been playing to a high level defensively all year,” said Strickland. “Our defensive guys have bought in to the team concept and that’s going to be huge this week. We’ve got to play fast, run to the ball and attack.”
The Trojans’ four-man front defense likes to play in the opponents’ backfield. Coffee has 71 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 19 quarterback sacks through nine games.
Senior Larry Daniel leads the team in tackles with 57 to go along with a team-high 13 TFLs. He also has a fumble recovery and an interception. Senior Drewshawn Taylor (5-9, 215) is second with 11 TFLs. He has a team-leading four quarterback sacks and a fumble recovery.
“We’re going to see a 4-2 alignment and no press coverage on the outside,” Strickland said. “The secondary reads the routes and attack. They are big upfront and long at the defensive end spots. They want to make you one-dimensional.
“We’ve got to be able to run the ball. We’re a throwing team, but we’ve got to be able to dictate. Third down is also going to be huge in this game. We’ve got to be able to catch the ball and move the chains.
“Another key is getting chunck yardage plays because nobody drives the ball on that defense. They are a different animal than what we’ve faced this year. The last thing is turnovers. We can’t turn the ball over and expect to win.”
WCHS vs. CHS
Coffee leads 31-25-1
WCHS CHS
1962 6 41
1963 19 12
1964 0 0
1965 0 6
1966 7 6
1967 20 33
1968 27 17
1969 16 12
1970 20 7
1971 20 6
1972 0 42
1973 8 14
1974 0 17
1975 6 28
1976 6 40
1976 $21 20
1977 20 0
1978 33 7
1979 19 21
1980 14 3
1981 7 21
1982 14 48
1983 0 27
1984 7 0
1985 7 35
1986 16 34
1987 7 28
1988 6 23
1989 6 37
1992 12 19
1993 12 27
1994 9 27
1995 13 20
1996 7 21
1997 0 28
1998 10 35
1999 47 21
2000 35 28
2001 6 7
2002 21 15
2003 14 7
2004 31 17
2005 10 7
2008 0 24
2009 17 13
2010 31 14
2011 28 21
2012 14 21
2013 13 38
2014 24 21
2015 23 14
2016 30 27
2017 14 21
2018 14 21
2019 7 21
2020 24 14
2021 35 3
$ - Region 1-AA playoffs
