RACELAND —
Raceland coach T.J. Maynard knows he has his hands full when the Rams host Sciotoville Community on Friday.
In fact he hopes his team will somehow find their hands on Sciotoville’s leading rusher Justin Crager, because according to him they didn’t last year.
“If we were playing two-handed touch last year they still would have won,” he said. “There were three or four plays where we didn’t get a hand on him. So we need to do a lot better job of containing him and limit the big plays from him.”
Last year Sciotoville defeated Raceland 66-44, and Crager had 249 yards and four touchdowns for the Tartans.
And Crager hasn’t slowed down this season, in three games the senior quarterback has already rushed for over a 1,000 yards.
“He might be the best overall football player we’ll see this year,” Maynard said. “He does a great job of ball handling and making great reads on what you are doing to stop their zone plays. Then when he gets out in open space, he’s got great speed and he’s a physical runner you can’t arm tackle.”
Raceland gave up 460 total yards of rushing against Sciotoville last year. So far this season the Rams have only allowed 541 rushing yards.
While many think it’s going be up to the defensive line to be the key to stop Crager and the Tartans’ attack, Maynard is looking more towards his outside linebackers and his safeties.
“I told them they better know where No. 7 is at all times,” Maynard said. “He is going to touch the ball every play, and he’ll probably carry the ball 90 percent of the time. We have to tackle well in space.
“I’m worried about the guys on the edge because that’s where they hurt us last year. Obviously our defensive line is going to play a big role, but our outside backers and our safeties are going to have a huge role.”
Along with Crager, the Tartans will look to running back Tyler Bradford, who had 140 yards on 14 carries last week in a win over Green.
But for Sciotoville coach Todd Gilliland, the difference could be an offensive line that features four sophomores.
“Big key for us is controlling the line of scrimmage,” Gilliland said. “A couple of them started as freshmen, but in the winter they hit the weight room hard. It seems like each week you see them getting better and gaining more confidence in themselves.”
While Sciotoville puts up big numbers with their run game, Raceland has been no slouch on the ground, or the air for that matter.
The Rams have totaled 959 rushing yards and 735 yards through the air on their way to averaging over 42 points a game.
“I’m impressed by their versatility,” Gilliland said about Raceland’s offense. “They have more than one guy you have to key on that can bust a long run. They have a good mix of run and pass. They play a tough offense to stop and they are coached very well.”
While last year’s game was a shootout, Maynard feels like Raceland is better than they were last year on the defensive side of the ball.
But whether it’s a shootout with scores in the 70s or Raceland holding its opponent to zero points, Maynard said as long as the Rams have more points than their opponents, it’s all good.
“We tell the kids on Thursday we don’t care how we win,” he said. “If we have to shut them out to win or score 70 to win, we’ll do whatever we have to for the win. That’s what we worry about each and every Friday night.”
KYLE HOBSTETTER can be reached at khobstetter@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2658.
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Rams ready for big-time running QB
Raceland looks to tame 1,000-yard rusher Crager
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