TIFTON — It won’t be just another ho-hum high school football game in Chula when the Tiftarea Academy Panthers host the Southwest Georgia Academy Warriors tonight at 7:30.
The Panthers will be playing the Warriors in the Region 3-AA opener for both sides. On top of that, it will also be homecoming for coach Marvin Barton’s Tiftarea squad.
While the Panthers took last week off due to a scheduling mix-up that caused their game with Holy Spirit to be canceled, the Warriors went to Albany to face Class AAA power Deerfield-Windsor.
Led by Tony Zenon’s two touchdowns and 288 yards rushing, Deerfield came away with a 21-0 win over Southwest Georgia.
“The Zenon kid had a huge night for Deerfield,” Barton said. “He had long touchdown runs (60 and 65 yards) and broke four or five tackles on each of them.”
Even with Zenon’s big night, Barton came away impressed with Southwest Georgia Academy’s defense.
“They lined up against a great team and played good defense,” said Barton.
On the other side of the ball, the Warriors moved the ball on Deerfield, Barton said.
“They got the ball down into the red zone a couple of times, but they just couldn’t score,” said the Panther coach.
Nile Knapp, who played at Sherwood Christian last season, is the leading rusher for the Warriors.
“He produces the most points for them, but they also have good fullbacks,” said Barton. “They run a trap play or a belly, and their fullbacks can go.”
Barton feels that the main strength of the SWGA offense is up front.
“They have a good-sized offensive line, and they are very impressive,” said Barton.
The leader up front is massive Parker Rentz.
“He is over 300 pounds, and he is a strong player,” the Panther coach said.
While the Warriors played in Albany, the Panthers had an unexpected week off.
The game against Holy Spirit was contracted to be at 7:30 p.m. in Atlanta. However, the Holy Spirit headmaster had scheduled something else for the field at the same time. A new time to play the game could not be agreed on, so the game was canceled.
Barton indicated the scheduling mix-up could have been a blessing in disguise for the Panthers.
“We have been battling the flu and a virus, and last week we had four players out for part of the week,” said Barton. “We could have plugged some other folks in, but it would have been real hard on us.”
The week of rest worked well, and Barton says the pressure of homecoming won’t affect his squad.
“We have told the kids that they will be on the field, while everyone else will be watching,” Barton said. “They know they have work to do.”
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