North Pike is back in the playoffs after a year absence.
The reward? A date with Region 6-4A champion Germantown (7-3), a school on the rise in only its second year as a prep team.
“We told them that if you turn it loose this will happen,” North Pike coach Chris Smith said. “We stand a chance to maybe knock them off.”
Hurricane Isaac rained out the first meeting between the two in August, but Smith said after last Friday’s game that might have been a blessing.
However, North Pike knows what to expect from Germantown’s offense.
“We watched them earlier in the year on film,” Smith said. “They have good running backs and have a couple of good receivers. They like to run the football and they can throw it, they are pretty balanced.”
Senior running back Travis Singleton leads Germantown in rushing with 1,039 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Tyler Shell has controlled the offense at quarterback and is averaging around 15 pass attempts per game. Shell has 1,258 yards and nine touchdowns in 10 games this season.
Smith also expects the Mavericks’ defense to give his offense trouble.
“They are real active on defense,” he said. “They will be one of the best teams we have seen so far.”
Smith doesn’t expect the Maverick offense to be anything his team hasn’t seen before. He compared Germantown to Purvis.
“I think we match up with them pretty well,” he said. “If we play like we are capable of playing I think we can hang with them.”
The Jags have a chance if they can get their offense clicking from the start.
Smith said North Pike’s defense will need to stay in the backfield and hold the Maverick’s offense in check.
“They are not going to make a lot of mistakes,” Smith said. “They are not going to beat themselves, we are going to have to go up there and beat them.”
North Pike junior running back Lakedric Lee will look to build on his 100-yard, two touchdown performance against South Pike. Lee has been the Jags’ most consistent runner out of the backfield.
Smith said he and his staff have been giving the team an “I told you so” after last week’s playoff-clinching performance against a struggling South Pike team.
“Now we have to try to do it again,” Smith said of the upcoming game.
