Ware County’s grueling 2024 schedule doesn’t get any easier this week with third-ranked Benedictine coming to town in the Region 1-AAAA opener for both teams.
The Gators (2-3) are in the throes of a two-game losing streak after falling in back- tob ack games with Top 1 0 teams from Florida’s Class 6A and Class 5A, falling out of the Top 10 rankings for the first time since 2019 — a streak of 68 polls.
“The thing for us (coaches) is making sure our players are mentally committed,” said head coach Jason Strickland. “We have to throw out the record of our first five games because the real season starts this week. We’ve had some tough breaks with injuries and nobody is going to feel sorry for us.
“We lost Landon (Smallwood, center) to a knee injury during practice, Luke (Hooks, quarterback) got beat up pretty good during the game and suffered an injury as did Cole (Cox, wide receiver/quarterback). Isaiah (White, backup quarterback) was hurt Thursday in a jayvee game.
“Friday night was the first time we had all 11 projected defensive starters on the grass this season. We’ve just to stay positive. The key is we’ve got to go out and play well and try to get off to a 1-0 start in region play. That gives you an opportunity to host a first round playoff game.”
The latest loss, a 10-0 setback at homecoming Friday to Lincoln High of Tallahassee, dropped Ware County from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Class 4A Top 10 poll ending a streak of 68 consecutive polls being ranked.
WCHS entered the rankings October 13, 2019 and dropped out with September 22, 2024 release. The Gators went 56-14 during that span.
Ware County and the Cadets (2-2) are meeting for the fifth consecutive year and first as region foes. The two programs have split the first four matchups with each winning twice at home. BC prevailed 31-24 last year in Savannah in a matchup of No. 1 teams in their respective classifications.
The meeting is the seventh between Strickland and Cadets’ head coach Danny Britt. The first three encounters came while Strickland was at Fitzgerald (2013, 2015-16 playoffs). Britt has led BC to a 4-3 mark against Strickland-led teams.
Benedictine, the pre-season No. 1 team, suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since 2020 falling to Rabun Gap (41-17) and Class 6A top-ranked Buford (29-28) on a late two-point conversion. Since, the Cadets have beaten Class 2A fourth-ranked Burke County (4314) and Class 4A Westminster (313) last Friday in their first game in 21 days.
“Rabun Gap and Buford are different animals,” said Strickland of BC’s first two opponents.
Strickland said the Cadets’ offense is not overly complicated, but they execute at a high level and get their athletes the ball in space.
Senior wide receiver Bubba Frazier has an offer from the University of Georgia. He leads the team with 23 catches for 367 yards and three touchdowns. He had seven catches for 164 yards with a 75-yard touchdown against Westminster and added 74 yards on four totes with a 57-yard touchdown.
Junior Joshua Washington averages nearly 20 yards a reception while senior Jack Ganem is averaging nearly 19 yards a reception. Sophomore Stanley Smart, Jr. (5foot-10, 190 lbs.) is the team’s leading rusher.
Junior Stephen Cannon (6-3, 195) directs the attack. He’s completed 55-of-95 passes for 850 yards with six touchdowns.
“They have a plethora of skill guys who could easily be the fastest we see all season,” the veteran coach said. “The quarterback is a highly recruited athlete. They (coaches) are giving him easy throws to get the ball out quickly to some very talented players.
“They’re going to play up-tempo and do a lot of window dressing to get your eyes moving. What we have to do is prevent the big play and tackle in space. I thought we did a good job of that Friday (Lincoln) and not so good the week before (Bartram Trail).”
Benedictine will use an odd-man front as its base and play some even. Strickland said the Cadets’ defense is good at all three levels.
Junior defensive tackle Kameron Cody (6-3, 290) anchors the defensive front while outside linebacker/defensive end Herbert Scoggins III (6-3, 230) controls the middle.
“Their defensive front and inside linebackers do a good job of cutting off running lanes,” said Strickland. “The safeties play a Cover 2 shell and don’t let anything get behind them. It’s a defense that makes dink and dunk the ball down the field. It’s hard to run 12-13 plays each time you need to score.
“The bottom line is we’ve got to make teams out-execute us to beat us. We can’t have turnovers like we did Friday against Lincoln and beat good teams. We also can’t commit the number of penalties we had in the last game.”
