The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricane faces the Dodge County Indians in a battle of the unbeaten Friday in Eastman.
Fitzgerald head coach Robbie Pruitt said that he believes that this will be the first test for his team. Fitzgerald won easily in each of its three contests, beating Irwin County 31-6, Randolph-Clay 41-13 and Mitchell County 41-0.
Now, the Hurricane faces a team that has only allowed seven points all season. Dodge defeated Telfair 41-0, Hawkinsville 14-0 and Crisp County 16-7.
When asked what Dodge’s team strengths were, Pruitt answered simply “They’ve got a lot of them.”
“They’re awful good,” he said. “They’re big, strong, fast and well coached.”
He said the Indians run a pro-style offense that uses counters, belly runs and options using a fast quarterback. He said they have big tackles who weigh over 250 pounds and running backs who are as big as they are fast.
“We’ve just got to slow them down,” he said. “I don’t know if we’re going to stop them.”
Defensively, the Indians will show a couple of looks. Pruitt said they run a 4-4 at times and then switch into a 50 and use slants to get into the backfield.
Fitzgerald will depend on its stable of runners to gain yards.
“We don’t have any one person,” Pruitt said. “We’ve pretty much spread the wealth.”
Tailback Dion Ross and fullback Nick Williams have received the majority of carries for the Hurricane, but Larry King, Corey Taylor and Jarrel Paschal have also had success rushing the ball.
According to Jim Ogilvie, a Fitzgerald fan with knowledge of the team’s football history, Fitzgerald and Dodge County have played since 1922 and the Hurricane holds a 25-8-1 advantage in the series. However, in the last 12 meetings, the series is tied at 6-6.
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