Coaches talk in cliches a lot. One of those cliches is something along the lines of “How do you respond after getting punched in the mouth?”
In sports, a team or player’s response to a situation is often more important than anything else. That is where Habersham Central High School’s football team finds itself right now – the interim of something happening and the potential response.
Week 1 started off better than anyone could have scripted it – except for that penalty that called the touchdown back on the first drive. The fumble recovery from Everett Rudeseal was a chef’s kiss moment in what was promising to be a glorious night for the visitors of The Reservation early on in a rivalry game.
Then momentum turned, the heavens opened up, and a weather-shortened result left the Raiders winless again in their opening contest.
Week 2 saw the team commit four turnovers, hold Flowery Branch from scoring for 34 minutes, 18 seconds of consecutive game time and still have a chance late in the game to win. Until a fifth turnover gave the ball back to the Falcons and saw them score the death knell touchdown.
What now?
“I think (the players) realize that we, as a program, work entirely too hard from December until now to get ready for the season. I think it means too much for them to go into panic mode two games into the season and start doubting,” HCHS Head Coach Benji Harrison said. “I don’t think they will do that.”
Harrison said he thinks his team is one in search of some confidence right now and is a few bounces going the Raiders’ way from being 1-1, if not 2-0.
“With that being said, we’re not. We’re 0-2,” he said. “I think the ‘want to’ is still there. The desire is still there. The belief is still there.”
Looking back
Nobody has to look too far to see the last time HCHS started 0-2. It was just last season.
The Raiders knocked off Central Gwinnett, 17-0, in a shutout victory to get things back on track.
Before that, HCHS opened up the 2019 season with a pair of losses. The third game that year? White County at home.
The Raiders churned out a 42-28 win over the Warriors on that occasion.
In that sense, HCHS has history on its side Friday night. Still, the team is going to have to go out and earn it.
With a good White County team coming into Raider Stadium Friday night to open the home slate, it’s going to be a battle from the opening kick until the last blast of the horn.
Eye on the opponent
The Warriors lost their opening game against Rabun County, 40-27, in Cleveland.
In that contest, they lost more than the game. Starting quarterback Tripp Nix reportedly couldn’t hold his throwing arm up late in the contest and was replaced by backup Alex Freeman.
The injury was initially expected to keep Nix out of commission for most, if not all, of the season. Now, there’s speculation the injury wasn’t as severe as expected and he could be back Friday night.
A year ago, Nix connected on 131-of-230 pass attempts for 1,692 yards and 16 touchdowns. He only turned the ball over four times in the air.
As a dual-threat quarterback, Nix carried the ball 120 times for 501 yards and 15 scores.
The Warriors didn’t return a whole lot of offensive production past Nix from the 2023 season.
Running back Noel Lammers, a junior, carried the ball 47 times for 223 yards and two scores a year ago.
Sophomore Gaines Clark put up 21 catches (3rd most on the team), 230 yards (4th), and five touchdowns (1st) in his freshman campaign.
The defensive side of the ball is where most of the experience and stats returned from the 2023 team for the Warriors. In total, 15 seniors, five juniors and four sophomores that recorded tackles from last season are expected to be back.
Keys to victory
“I think their offensive line is pretty good,” Harrison said. They’ve got some experience. They’re big. They’re physical. They know what they’re doing. They’re well coached. When you throw the Nix kid into the mix, they’re pretty hard to handle.
Harrison said Warriors’ coach Chad Bennett is very balanced in his offensive scheme. The Raiders won’t be able to load the box defensively and sell out to stop the run because the Warriors can beat them over the top. If they sit back to take the passing game away, WCHS will take the game on the ground.
“There isn’t one thing where you can say ‘If you take this away, you win the game.’ I think he’s got enough where if you take this away, he’ll go to something else,” Harrison said. “You’ve just got to play sound defense. You’ve got to understand you’re not going to play perfect defense. They’re going to make some plays, but you’ve got to try to eliminate big plays.”
Defensively, Harrison expects the Warriors to put a lot of pressure on his young offensive line because that’s what they’ve done in the past. If Bennett has done his homework, that’s a good strategy to play against the Raiders.
“They’ve always been a team that tries to pressure us a lot. I think, if they watched the first two games of the year, they’re probably going to say that’s a pretty good antidote to get them,” Harrison said. “Test those young lineman. I expect them to do that.”
Harrison characterized the White County defense as “sound” and said the group won’t allow much in the way of big plays. The Warriors are going to make teams beat them with long drives that, for the most part, aren’t truly sustainable in the high school game because of turnovers and penalties.
What if
If the Raiders do fall Friday night, it will be the first 0-3 start to a season for the program since Harrison’s first season in 2015. That season he inherited a program that was 1-19 under the previous regime.
Harrison said he won’t let the thought of going 0-3 enter his mind. If that’s the result of Friday, that’s a sleepless night and long Saturday’s problem.
“My mind is going to go to ‘We’ve got to win Friday night,’” Harrison said. “I will say this, I’m not going to worry so much about the outcome that I can’t be ready for this game. I’m not going to coach Friday night so worried about winning that I don’t do what I believe in and do something bold that could cost us the game. I ain’t ever coached like that and I’m not going to coach like that.”
Harrison said this game is a big one for multiple reasons, but mainly because of who it’s against and the winless record of his team.
“(The players) feel the pressure. I feel the pressure. I want so much for this community to be proud of our team. I do. That keeps me awake at night,” Harrison said. “I want our community to be proud of our football team. When you start out 0-2, part of me says I let (the community) down. That bothers me.
“I love this place, I love these kids, so I take that personally.”
Get off the mat
The Raiders have been punched in the mouth and, just like a scene in a boxing movie, they’re in a slow motion fall to the canvas.
Now it comes down to another Week 3 against White County to show whether HCHS will pick itself up, wipe away the hypothetical blood, and go on the offensive to get back in the fight.
“You’ve got to respond in (football). This game is not for the faint of heart. It’s not for the guys that don’t have mental toughness,” Harrison said. “I think we’ve got guys that have mental toughness and our mental toughness has been challenged early.
“We’ve got a lot of football left and we aren’t close to waving the white flag.”
The Raiders and Warriors will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday as HCHS hosts its annual Ring of Honor night.
