While Chattahoochee County head coach Russell Morgan knows losses can sometimes steer a team in the right direction, the frustration of an 0-6 record still lingers.
“We’re coming along, it’s just going to feel better if we ever get a win,” Morgan said after Friday’s 19-0 home loss to Dooly County (3-2).
The Bobcats scored all of their points in the first half and stuck primarily to their trio of running backs — Mark Clark, Zachary Hooks and Chanin Hamilton, who combined for 142 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Clark had the longest run of the night for the Bobcats with a 39-yard touchdown, putting the Bobcats up 6-0. Dooly County added two more touchdowns during the last 4 minutes of the first half, including a 23-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Smith to Freddie McKenzie.
Offensively, the Panthers struggled to keep the Bobcats’ defense out of the backfield, and the pressure resulted in two interceptions and a lost fumble by quarterback Malcom Anderson. Morgan said the Dooly County defensive line was the most athletic he’s seen this year.
If the Dooly County defense didn’t stop them, the Panthers hurt themselves with penalties and bad snaps. The Panthers’ biggest play, a 41-yard run by fullback Eric Zeigler in the third quarter that could have given Chattco momentum, turned into a turnover on downs.
“We still have some issues between quarterback-center and quarterback-running back exchanges,” Morgan said. “I hate to keep using the word ‘young,’ but we’ve got a quarterback who is in his third game.”
Coming off a disappointing 41-6 loss to Macon County Sept. 23, after nearly beating undefeated Brookstone the week before, Morgan said his team was back to playing with heart.
One of the reasons for that, he said, was his challenge to his team to become more physical, which helped against a big Dooly County defensive line. Morgan said the week of practice leading up to Dooly County was the most physical the team has had this year.
“In the first part of the year, we were not a very physical football team, but we’re getting there,” he said.
Morgan said as long as his team doesn’t fall flat the way it did against Macon County, he believes the Panthers have a good chance of getting a win next week at home against Hawkinsville (2-4).
“(This game was) so much better than last week,” he said. “If we show up and play like we did tonight and like we did against Brookstone, we’ll be all right.”
