2012 result: Randolph County 35, Gaston 0
Series record: Randolph County 3, Gaston 2
By Gene Stanley/Correspondent
Swane Morris figures that if his Gaston High football team can contain No. 27 (receiver Willie Knight) and No. 37 (running back Rico Nelson), there’s a good chance of success against Randolph County.
“They’re a good, solid team,” Morris said. “They’re a typical Randolph County team.
“But limiting those two will help any team to beat them. They’re definitely the speedsters that need to handle the ball.”
One thing atypical is that the Tigers’ old coach – Pat Prestridge – is the team’s new coach. In 2003, Prestridge led RCHS to a state championship. He left for another school but is back.
Sound familiar?
In last week’s jamboree, Randolph County primarily stayed in the shotgun formation but mainly threw screens and passes out to the flats, trying to get the ball in the hands of Knight and Nelson so that they could get in the open field.
As for Gaston, Morris feels pretty good about the Bulldogs’ jamboree, particularly the rushing game.
Gaston combined to beat Coosa Christian and Winterboro 54-6, holding off Coosa 20-6 in that half.
“We pretty much did exactly what we needed to do,” he said. “We played everybody and went three deep at tailback – all three scored a touchdown.”