Griffin shines as Tallassee wins back-to-back games

By DALTON MIDDLETON Sports Editor

The Tallassee football team has gotten back on track with two straight wins, and a lot of that success has to do with the emergence of running back Josh Griffin.

Tallassee, after losing four of its five games in the month of September, has beaten region opponents Elmore County, 26-20, and beaten Valley, 25-7, in the last two weeks.

In those two wins, Griffin has put on a show. He has rushed 34 total times for a combined 358 yards and five touchdowns.

He rushed 14 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns against Elmore County, then a career-high 20 times for 218 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Valley on Friday night.

“Josh has always been a good running back, and we have multiple guys who can run the football,” Tallassee coach Mike Battles said. “We’ve started blocking and doing the little things right. Josh has had some great games and he’s running the ball really hard. Even the runs where he hasn’t scored, he’s running hard. And he’s getting a lot of yards after contact.”

Tallassee is a run-first football team, and the Tigers feature multiple guys in the backfield every game. Quarterbacks Tyler Ellis and Cade Everson are both run-first quarterbacks, and the running back room features Griffin, DJ Leonard and James Bender as the primary running backs.

With five guys splitting carries, it’s tough for one person to stand out without long runs. That was seen in Tallassee’s first six games with Griffin.

In Tallassee’s first six games, Griffin only recorded 30 carries for 124 yards and one touchdown. His lone touchdown came against Reeltown in the opener, and his most yards (33) came against Chilton County.

He’s rushed for more yards and touchdowns in each of the last two games than he had in the previous six games combined.

“He’s a quality back and he’s very strong,” Battles said. “He made some runs against Valley where he got hit two yards behind the line of scrimmage and broke tackles and did a tremendous job of extending the play. He runs really hard. When he’s committed, he’s not trying to run around you. He’s going to run over you.”

With Griffin extending plays and rushing for career highs, Tallassee’s offense has also put up two of the best performances they’ve had all season.

The Tigers scored 26 and 25 points the last two weeks, which are the only two times they’ve scored over 21 points outside of the Reeltown game in the season opener.

During the five games from Aug. 26 to Sept. 23, Tallassee averaged only 14.8 points per game. During those Ellis or Everson was the leading rusher the majority of the time. With another running back taking on some of the load and gaining yards and touchdowns, the Tallasee offense is much better.

“It’s huge for our offense,” Battles said. “When we go out there and with some of our sets, we have three guys who can all tote the ball. They can all get the job done. It’s hard to key on one of them and look at one guy who is going to run the ball. Anytime you can be multiple, it gives all of them a better opportunity to have some success.”

Edgewood

Continued from B1 have since won two of their last four games.

Hooper has allowed the most points in the region, allowing nearly 39 points per game this year. The Colts have only played one game where they allowed less than 35 points, and they’ve given up 45 points or more twice this season.

But while the defense has given up a plethora of points, the offense has put up points in a hurry in a few games and they’re averaging 30 points per game.

They’ve had two of their top three scoring outputs in the last two weeks.

“When you watch them throughout the season, they’ve gotten better every week,” Michael said of Hooper.

Battles doesn’t care which player is racking up the yards or touchdowns, as he’s just happy that his team didn’t quit when they could’ve. His Tigers were sitting at 2-4 with an 0-2 record in region play just two weeks ago.

But his team continued to play hard, and they cleaned up some of the penalties and turnovers that plagued the team during the four-game losing streak.

Now with the two wins, Tallassee is sitting at third in the region with a 2-2 record and have already clinched a playoff spot. They have one game left, against last place Sylacauga (0-8, 0-4) on Friday night.

With a win, Tallassee will wrap up the third seed in the region.

“It’s been really fun to see this team evolve and get to where I thought this team would be,” Battles said. “The thing I’m most proud of is that nobody gave up. You lose four in a row, and a lot of kids would fold up shop. Our kids haven’t. They’re still playing football and now they’ve put themselves in a position to play in the playoffs.”

“They’ve played a really tough schedule. They have three really good backs. They have a really good offensive tackle and they run behind him a lot. On defense, they’re very aggressive and make you get the ball out of your hands quick. We have to be prepared for that.”

When Hooper’s offense is rolling, it’s really rolling. In their two wins athis season, the Colts have put up 68 points and 72 points. The two games account for 140 of their 210 points scored this season.

All three of their top playmakers on offense each rushed for over 100 yards last week as they beat Sparta Academy, 72-50.

Edgewood’s defense has played well at times this year as they’ve allowed 200 total points in seven games, but the run defense has been especially spotty at times.

In three of their four losses, Edgewood has given up over 300 yards of rushing to opposing teams. In the win against Macon East last week, Edgewood gave up 214 rushing yards.

Edgewood’s defense has its work cut out for it, and the Wildcats will have to keep the Colts rushing attack in check if they want to play a playoff game at home.

“I don’t care who you’re playing against, if you score that many points in a game you’re moving the football,” Michael said. “Those three backs can all break loose at any time. Any run can go for a touchdown. They have one guy who is really physical but he can also break it 80 yards at any time. They have a good combination of speed and power, and they’re all going to get their touches.”

Tonight: convincing. CANCER (June 21-July

Family

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