Arab (2-1, 0-1) at Southside (1-2, 0-0)
Last week: Fort Payne 38, Arab 27; Chelsea 16, Southside 13
Last meeting: Southside 45, Arab 25 (2013)
Series record: Southside leads 10-9-3
By Gene Stanley/Sports Correspondent
Now the games start counting as Southside High enters its Class 6A, Region 7 schedule.
First up is Arab, which has a new coach and therefore a lot of excitement.
“Nothing against (former) coach (Watt) Parker, but whenever you have a new coach, there is that excitement factor,” Southside coach Ron Daugherty said.
The Knights got off to a great start, beating Cullman and Madison County – two very talented teams.
“Arab plays a very fast offense,” Daugherty said. “A lot of times, they snap the ball with only three seconds or so gone off the play clock.”
As for Southside, Daugherty is still trying to get all of his players back from injury and illness. In three games, the Panthers have started three different offensive line lineups.
“More than anything, we’re looking for consistency,” Daugherty said. “We need to take better advantage of our scoring chances.”
Daugherty said that Southside scored late against Chelsea and had a chance to score again but couldn’t capitalize.
“Watching the film, we couldn’t see a lack of effort anywhere,” he said. “We’ve just got to fix our mistakes.”