PCA defense targets Hounds’ potent run game|[9/15/06]
Published 12:00 am Friday, September 15, 2006
After a quick breather last week, the Porters Chapel Eagles are jumping right back into the fire.
PCA hosts Huntington, which has scored more than 40 points in both of its games and is ranked No. 2 in The Clarion-Ledger’s MPSA Class A poll, tonight at 7:30.
“We’re going to have our hands full,” PCA coach Randy Wright said. “They’re big up front, they have a lot of team speed and they have a lot of talent.”
So does PCA, which unleashed all of its weapons for the first time last Friday in a 42-0 win over Franklin.
PCA (2-1) struggled in the red zone its first two games and managed only one touchdown. Turnovers and penalties plagued PCA in both games after it did a good job marching between the 20-yard lines.
Against Franklin, quarterback Hayden Hales threw his first two touchdown passes of the year and the Eagles scored from nearly everywhere on the field in their first easy game of the season.
“We definitely played well last week. We had a complete game for the first time, and I hope we can carry that into this week,” Wright said. “We executed better on the offensive side. We were able to put the ball in the end zone, and I think it showed on the scoreboard.”
Putting the ball in the end zone is something Huntington has done well all season.
The Hounds (2-0) feature a three-headed running attack led by quarterback Terence Johnson that has piled up 47 and 46 points in its first two games. The Hounds are coming off an open week. Johnson, fullback Ricky Dunbar and wingback Colin Stacey have all rushed for at least two touchdowns.
“It’s almost like a passing game in the running game because you can give it to any one of those three guys,” Huntington coach Chad Harkins said. “It’s a tougher thing to defend.”
Johnson, a mobile quarterback who transferred from Ferriday, has also thrown two TD passes. Slowing him down will be a tough task, and a priority, for the Eagles, Wright said.
“He runs the ball extremely well in the open field. We have to contain him in the open field,” Wright said.