Stanhope Elmore has faced some adversity this past week, in addition to seeing players go down with injuries it has also seen some prominent starters have been suspended due to an investigation by AHSAA.
However, that is not going to stop the Mustangs from scheming how to defeat the Patriots who sit undefeated in region play so far. One of the biggest proponents towards their start so far has been the usage of the run-pass option on the offensive side of the ball.
Stanhope coach Hunter Adams knows Pike Road is a talented team on the offenside of the ball, but will construct a game plan to defend the RPO.
“It really comes down to making the right checks at the line pre-snap defensively, getting our eyes in the right place,” Adams said. “Us trying to dictate what phase of the RPO we want to get them to, depending on down and distance. If it's a third and seven, then we want to force you to run the ball inside, obviously. If it's first and 10, then we want to make you try to throw the ball outside. Low percentage pass, things of that nature, so trying to work hard pre-snap to dictate where the RPO goes.”
In particular it is going to the play in the front seven that could ultimately dictate how much of the production they can eliminate.
“We're down several starters this week because of an incident,” Adams said. “Up front, Dezmond Barnes at defensive tackle, and Tyler Barrett, that defensive end, have to have big games for us. Inside linebacker Jacob Tharpe has got to continue to improve his play each week and step up and be really physical.”
Offensively Stanhope is dealing with a similar issue and might be without quarterback Zac Holcombe, who suffered a lower leg injury last Friday. However, the offense will continue to run through Arthur McQueen and other running backs like sophomore Dammarian Barnes to carry a load of the work.
“Our sophomore H-back and running back Dammarian Barnes is a really good football player as well,” Adams said. “He ran for 198 yards this past Friday night himself. He's a really good complimentary piece to Arthur. He's only a sophomore, we've seen him mature each week and become more capable of taking on more responsibility in the offense. As he does that, he makes us more multifaceted and a little more dynamic.”
In the game against Pike Road, Stanhope will have many players to fill in through the roster as it combats the absence of prominent players on both sides of the ball. Adams says he expects many underclassmen to contribute on Friday.
“We're going to have to have some guys that haven't played a lot because of injuries and other personnel issues step up and execute at a really high level,” Adams said. “As coaches, it's our job to get them ready to do that from a schematic standpoint, from a training standpoint. There's gonna be a lot of ninth and 10th graders on the field for us Friday night, those guys are going to have to play mature beyond their years.”
The Mustangs look to add another tick to the win column on Friday night and derail the Patriots’ undefeated region record. They will have the advantage as the Patriots will be the away team fighting through the enemy crowd.
