(Lake City) KSOM will air #9 South Central Calhoun hosting ACGC in a Class 1A playoff football game on Friday. Both teams are 8-1.
South Central Calhoun coach Bryan Case points out ACGC has an advantage when it comes to size. “They have the size advantage on us, there’s no question about that. We are going to have to maintain control of the line of scrimmage. We are going to have to get to their speed before speed can get started. We’re going to have to get to that fullback. He’s 5’10 220 pounds and he runs downhill. The faster we can get to those guys the better off we are going to be.” Case is referring to ACGC’s Gavin Cornelison who topped 300 yards on the ground in the team’s first round win. The fullback is closing in on 4,000 career rushing yards.
However, the Titans have been in big games before and they are playing at home. “We’ve been in this situation a number of times. We’ve been in the quarterfinals since we’ve been South Central Calhoun I think six or seven times in the last eleven years. We’ve been in these big ball games before and we know it’s going to be another huge test for us, but we also have them at home. Anytime you are playing in the playoffs and you have a game at home that’s always an advantage as well.”
Coach Case says his team has faced a few run dominant teams such as Emmetsburg twice and South Hamilton once. They 3-0 in those game. “We really did have a tough time stopping South Hamilton. They are satisfied with marching the ball 3-4 yards a pop and methodically staying on the field that way which obviously keeps the ball out of our offenses hands as well that way. We’ve seen this three different times throughout the year. The difference is with ACGC is they are a lot bigger.”
South Hamilton is a common opponent between these squads. ACGC beat them 40-22 and South Central Calhoun topped the Hawks 18-14. “Boy I tell you what they are the real deal. They have the size up front, they have the speed, they have the know how. We are going to have our hands full with these guys. You take a look at the weather and everything else and the soggy field, this is just right up there alley. They just want to run the football and are kind of one dimensional that way, but what they do one dimensionally is very, very good and very, very sound.”
The Titans only loss was a 7-0 setback to Pocahontas Area in Week 2. They average 316 yards per game with 210 of that on the ground. The winner advances to the quarterfinals to face either Woodward-Granger or top ranked Van Meter.
South Central Calhoun coach Bryan Case:
