As the pool gets smaller, the teams get better.
That could not be truer than this Friday when Reeltown faces off against an undefeated Cottonwood team in the quarterfinals of the AHSAA Class 2A playoffs.
Although the teams are separated by more than two hours, they are separated by only one spot in the Alabama Sports Writers Association rankings with the Bears and Rebels at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively — providing the Rebels with their biggest test since Week 1 against T.R. Miller.
“They're a really good football team; they're very well coached,” Reeltown coach Matt Johnson said. “They were a really young team last year when we played them. They've got most all of those guys back, including their quarterback and running back and most of their offensive line. So they're a really good team, and I know all I've been talking about their offense, but I mean, defensively, they're extremely, extremely fundamental. They blitz a lot, they send multiple different kinds of pressure. This will be a really big test. It's one of the better teams we've played all year.”
Cottonwood’s offense revolves around quarterback Braylon Morris who has accounted for 2,354 total yards and 26 touchdowns while running back King Campbell accounts for 1,625 and 30 touchdowns—stressing the importance of Reeltown’s defense stepping up to the challenge and not letting Cottonwood’s “unique” offense fool them.
“I think the biggest challenge defensively for us will be having extreme eye discipline, focus on your keys, being able to line up correctly, getting our checks in and not getting caught watching the smoke and mirrors of their offense,” Johnson said. “The motions and the shifts and the post-snap movement with guys going in various ways that can give you false reads.
You've really got to lock in on what your key is and play very disciplined, because there's two guys back there, (Morris and Campbell), they're standing right next to each other. So it's really you're defending two quarterbacks. (Campbell) can throw the ball a little bit, but they're snapping it to either one. It's a unique system where you can't zone in and say, ‘Hey, (Morris) is the quarterback every single play.’ Because that's just not how it's set up.”
The Bears may have some offensive firepower, but so do the Rebels. Through two playoff games, the Rebels offense is averaging 61 points and 296 rushing yards per game in that span. What also is not taken into account is the success JaMarkius Smith has had as a passer in that span tossing five touchdowns through two playoff games.
“It's actually very similar from the defensive side up front, we've got to have good eye discipline, because they do send so much pressure and so much movement from slanting to linebackers blitzing to safety blitzing,” Johnson said. “We've got to keep our head up and see that movement and make sure we're blocking the right guys. The main thing is we've got to protect the football, we did a good job of that last week. We've got to stay in front of the chains. We can't have big chunks of loss yardage throughout the game, whether penalties or them getting pressure on our quarterback, we've got to stay in front of the sticks and sustain drives. It's gonna be difficult to get big plays on them. They're gonna make you earn your points and sustain drives.”
What plays to Reeltown's benefit is home-field advantage in such a high-stakes game. Johnson knows having the crowd could play to their advantage but is more so thankful for the aspect of the team’s pregame routine.
“Playing at home is just better from the mental standpoint, it's your home crowd,” Johnson said. “The logistics are different from planning and travel, we get to have the same routine. That's something that our guys are used to. We've done it all year long, there's less opportunity for distractions when you're able to do that, instead of loading up on a bus and having to travel three hours. Our guys should be able to focus on the game instead of the adjustment of a routine.”
All eyes will be on the matchup between Reeltown and Cottonwood as two of the best teams in the entire classification face off to keep each of its state championship dreams alive.