Ware County head coach Jason Strickland is looking for consistency from his ninth-ranked squad as the Gators head into the final two weeks of the regular season.
“We have got to show we can be consistent if we’re going to make a playoff run,” said Strickland, who’s team is 4-4 overall and 2-1 in rugged Region 1AAAA play. “We have not played with any consistency from week-to-week this year.”
The consistency in winning has not happened through the first eight games. Ware County has not put together backto- back victories to date following each win with a loss.
“We’ve got to get some momentum going,” said the veteran head coach. “We’ve got to get bodies back for a playoff run. We’ve got to have guys step up and be that brick in the wall to hold the wall up. And, we’ve got show we can be consistent week in and week out.
“We can’t look past anybody. We’ve got to go out and execute on both sides of the ball and in all three phases of the game.”
This week is the last opportunity Ware County can put together a two-game winning streak during the regular season after failing three previous times. A victory would assure a playoff berth after Perry clinched the region title knocking off Benedictine.
Wayne County (0-9, 0-4) is next on the schedule in what should have been the last week of the regular season had Hurricane Helene not created havoc.
The Yellow Jackets will be out to avoid its second winless season in 103 years and second in four years. Wayne County finished 2021 0-9. “They (Yellow Jackets) could come out and play like a caged animal,” said Strickland. “They are going to fight and scrap because it’s the last home game for their seniors. They can shock the world with a victory.”
The meeting is the 37th in the series dating back to 1962. Ware County has won the last three matchups to grab a 19 17 series advantage. “Looking at their (Yellow Jackets) film,” said Strickland, “they play hard. It’s not an effort thing.” Wayne County’s offense is one of the most anemic in the state. The Yellow Jackets have scored just four touchdowns and two field goals for 34 points on the season. The school record for fewest points in a 10game season is 52 occurring in 2008.
The season-high point total is 10 in the season opening 16-10 loss to Glynn Academy. Wayne County scored seven points against Brunswick, Perry and New Hampstead with a three-point outing vs. Warner Robins.
They (Yellow Jackets) have gone to a spread option attack,” Strickland said. “It’s an offense we have not seen. You can play it well and have one missed assignment and give up a big play. We’ve got to show discipline and not get bored with having the same assignment on every play because they are not going to get bored running the same play.”
Defensively, Wayne County has held one opponent below 34 points (Glynn Academy). The Yellow Jackets are allowing 38.7 points per game with five foes scoring 40 or better including the last three.
“They do a bunch of stuff from an odd front to an even front,” said Strickland. “It’s hard to determine what they are trying to do and that is a headache because you have to prepare for a lot of stuff.
“That is a concern because we made a complete change with our offensive line last week. How will our guys handle the possible confusion created by their (Yellow Jackets) changing defensive looks?”
Strickland plans to use the matchup with Wayne County and home finale against New Hampstead to work on his squad’s preparation for the playoffs.
“We (coaches) will start zeroing in on what we do best,” the head coach said. “We’ll do a deep dive and do self-evaluations and see what tendencies we have. We’ll look at stances on the offensive side and see if we’re tipping off plays.
“We’ll look at our coverages in the secondary and see how we can do a better job of disguising. The deep ball is a big concern — that has been our nemesis all season.
“These last two games will help us in getting ready for a five-game run to what our goal is this season and that is the last scheduled game of the year.”
