Piedmont Prepares for Playoffs

Months of work for the Piedmont Academy football team has all been geared toward what is about to take place.

The Cougars are set to begin a drive toward what they hope will be a state title when they host Edmund Burke in an opening-round playoff game this Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Piedmont’s first playoff opponent will present a tougher challenge than normal. This season the state playoffs have been cut to three rounds with only eight teams qualifying. The top two teams from each region will battle for the state championship.

Edmund Burke enters the game at 7-2-1 overall and the No. 2 seed from Region 2-AA. The Spartans lost to Trinity last week and the only other blemish on their record was a loss to Class AAA Pinewood.

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“We are excited about this game,” said Cougar head coach Danny Camp. “Edmund Burke is a very good team. They have a big fullback who will be hard to stop. We have to control the line of scrimmage. This will probably be as good of a matchup as you will see in the first round.”

Piedmont earned the right to host an opening-round game by winning the Region 4-AA title last Friday night with a 44-7 victory against Monroe Academy. The Cougars dominated the contest scoring three times in the opening quarter.

Lance Richardson rushed for 119 yards on just nine carries while D.J. Allen added 60 yards on 11 attempts. Christopher Hornibrook and Justin Atkins both rushed for 45 yards in last week’s win.

“We came out and took care of business,” Camp said. “We like to get the football first in games so we can catch fire early. We took the opening kickoff and marched down the field.”

Monroe was unable to get anything going offensively in the game finishing with just 12 yards rushing.

“We took control early and never let up,” said Camp. “That’s something you always like to see from your team.”

The coach credited his offensive line for helping clear the way for the offense last week. Tackles Randy Reagin and Andrew Stevenson, guards Jake Landress and Charlie Needham, tight ends Whit Morgan and Ben Cleary and center Clint Fields did the job in the trenches for Piedmont.

The defensive effort was also stellar last week. Hornibrook had 5.5 tackles while Morgan, Reagin, Stevenson and Gree Roberts added five each. Andy Hall finished with four tackles while Allen had an interception.

Thoughts are now focused on this Friday’s state playoff game.

“We are focused and our players will get after it this week in practice,” Camp said. “We are 7-4, but we have played a tough schedule.”

The coach said he likes the new state playoff format which has been cut to three rounds.

“That means if we win this week we are one game away from playing for a state championship,” Camp said.
STATS VS. MONROE
MA 0 0 0 7 — 7
PAC 20 14 3 7 — 44
Rushing:
Lance Richardson, nine carries for 119 yards
Christopher Hornibrook, eight carries for 45 yards
D.J. Allen, 11 carries for 60 yards
Justin Atkins, seven for 45 yards
Zac Hauther, four for 21 yards
Andy Hall, one for five yards
Joey Schroeder, one for four
Passing:
Zac Hauther, 3-of-6 for 65 yards
Receiving:
Whit Morgan, three receptions for 65 yards
Field Goal: Tyler Landress, 24 yards
Defense:
Christopher Hornibrook, 5.5 tackles
Whit Morgan, 5 tackles
Randy Reagin, 5 tackles
Andrew Stevenson, 5 tackles
Gree Roberts, 5 tackles
Andy Hall, 4 tackles
D.J. Allen, interception
Penalties:
PAC: 5 for 55 yards
Monroe: 5 for 46 yards
Record:
PAC: 7-4 overall, 4-0 in Region 4-AA