Carver football seeks important region victory over Cairo

Football in Region 1-4A might be a mad dash to the finish with four weeks left, but the Carver Tigers can position themselves favorably with a win Friday.

Carver (2-4, 2-1) plays host to reigning region champion Cairo (3-3, 2-1) at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium. The Tigers could be on a crash course toward the region title, as victories the next three weeks might set up for a winner-take-all game at current region leader Americus-Sumter on Nov. 3.

To reach that point, Carver must first take care of Cairo.

“(Beating Cairo) would be huge,” Carver head coach Calvin Arnold said. “We’re just taking it one game at a time and trying to make sure we go 1-0 each week. We’re making sure our kids are focused and are staying on the right track toward winning the region championship.”

The Tigers got off to an uncharacteristic 0-4 start but have righted the ship the last two weeks, beating Westover and Shaw by a combined score of 66-7. Arnold praised tight end Jarius Thomas and defensive lineman Andrew Ogletree as two players who have stood out in the team’s resurgence.

“The biggest thing is once the kids got that first win, everybody got to where they made sure we were dominating every facet of the game,” Arnold said. “It took us a while to get going, but we’re playing with a total team effort now.”

Like Carver, Cairo’s start out of the gate was far from its norm. The Syrupmakers started 1-2, needed a late field goal to avoid losing to Hardaway for the first time ever and lost to Americus-Sumter by 16 points two weeks ago.

Both teams are coming off bye weeks for a game that may have lost some luster thanks to two rocky starts to the season. Though each squad is still proving itself, Arnold knows a win could be crucial once November rolls around.

“Cairo’s a good football team, and they have a strong tradition of winning,” Arnold said. “I’m not going to take them as a light game. I know they have a good, fundamentally strong team, and they have a great coaching staff as well.”

Arnold said he and his assistants stressed perfecting the fundamentals during the bye week following the Shaw win. His Tigers have shown strides since region play began, but if Carver wants to meet its lofty goals, it must make sure it plays its best game Friday.

“I need to see the same consistency we had the last two games as far as playing hard. I think everything else will take care of itself,” Arnold said. “I do believe we have a team that’s capable of pulling a big upset.”

This story was originally published October 12, 2017 at 12:10 PM with the headline "Carver football seeks important region victory over Cairo."