One at a time

Mark Morgan / The Item Wilson Hall wide receiver Wesley Talley (10) catches a touchdown pass during the Barons' 34-33 victory over Laurence Manning earlier this season. The Barons play host to Augusta Christian on Friday in the first round of the SCISA state playoffs.

By PATRICK ENZOR
Item Assistant Sports Editor
penzor@theitem.com

Creating a game plan for Augusta Christian won’t be too hard for Wilson Hall.

After all, the Barons squared off with their SCISA 3A state playoffs first-round opponent just 27 days ago — a 28-18 win in Martinez, Ga. On Friday, the two teams will meet again at Spencer Field.

“It hadn’t been that long ago since we played them,” said Wilson Hall head coach Eddie Talley, whose team is 8-3 on the season after winning the Region II-3A title. “We have an idea about their personnel. Both teams can see what worked and what didn’t.

“They’ve got a pretty good football team,” he added. “I don’t think we’ve been overconfident this year, and I don’t think we’ll be (this week), but that’s always a concern.”

In the victory in October, Barons quarterback Josh Glenn finished with 134 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and was also 9-for-16 passing for 123 yards. Glenn has completed 117 of 210 passes for 2,102 yards and 17 touchdowns while adding 732 yards rushing and 13 TDs.

Wide receiver Chris Sharp has 998 receiving yards and nine scores.

However, as much as the passing game has been a part of the Barons’ offense this year, it was the rushing game last week that propelled them to victory. Wilson Hall ran for 359 yards in its 34-7 win against Pinewood Prep that clinched the region title.

“Knowing that we can run the ball, that does play into how we go about this week,” said Talley. “Our running game hasn’t been as strong, but we’ve started playing pretty well in that area. That gives everyone much more confidence.”

Augusta Christian is 5-5 on the season after finishing fourth in Region I.

“They are just aggressive on both sides of the ball,” said Talley. “We have to stop the running game. They have decent size up front; we just have to slow down the running game.

“Outside the Laurence Manning game (a 34-33 victory), I think we’ve actually been playing much better defensively,” he added. “I’m hoping that momentum carries over.”

After making a run to the state championship game last year, Talley said he likes the experience this team has at playing in the playoffs.

“We’re really just focused on just one game at a time,” he said. “We’ve been in the playoffs the last 11 years or whatever it is, and I think that will help come playoff time, but each team is different.”