Braves look to start region win streak hosting Raiders

Published 8:51 am Wednesday, September 25, 2024

(Editor’s note: This game has been moved to Monday, Sept. 30. Kickoff time TBD.)

West Laurens High is winning football games … at least the Raiders were until Harlem High pulled into Dexter last weekend and went crazy in the third quarter. The Bulldogs scored all 28 of their points in the Region 4-AAA contest and won 28-7, an outcome that knocked West Laurens out of the ranks of the unbeaten.

But at 2-1 in the region, the Raiders are ahead of Baldwin High (1-1) in the standings, something the Braves and head coach Kevin Patterson will look to change Monday at Braves Stadium. West Laurens is one of only two recent region rivals Baldwin retained during the last GHSA reclassification.

The two foes in Milledgeville already have two common opponents in the 2024 season, both losing to Harlem High but both also topping Cross Creek. A 44-28 victory for the Raiders over the Razorbacks in region play completed what was a four-game winning streak to start the WLHS campaign. The streak also included a bit of a nail-biter, a 28-27 region win over Howard High in which running back Ty Cummings gained 233 yards on the ground and scored three touchdowns.

“It’s going to be a well-coached team,” said Patterson. “They have a good scheme on both sides of the ball. It’s one of those games where we have to play good Baldwin Braves football to win. It’s not going to be a game where we can just show up and say, ‘Hey, it’s a victory.’ We will have to go out and earn it.

“They want to run the ball, so we have to stop the run. They have a good running back (Cummings) whom I believe played quarterback last year. They get the ball in his hands. We have to do a good job of tackling him. We have to establish the run ourselves, and if we do that we’ll put ourselves in a good position to win.

“Their team is playing well this season. Only one loss. We have to eliminate the penalties and the turnovers. We have to do it; they’re not going to give it to us.”

The West Laurens game with Harlem was 0-0 at halftime, and in a bit of reversal of fortune West Laurens forced some turnovers on the Bulldogs when Harlem drove deep into Raider ground.

“Their defense does do a good job of creating turnovers,” said Patterson. “That’s what kept them in the game. But Harlem made some key adjustments and stopped turning the ball over. They executed their adjustments, and from there they were able to jump on the scoreboard and handle business.”

When Harlem hosted Baldwin on Sept. 13, the Bulldogs were the ones making the first-half takeaways with three pass interceptions. Two came with the Braves inside the Harlem 10-yard-line. It was 17-0 Bulldogs at halftime, but the Braves made the adjustments and shut down the home team in the second half. However, another key turnover late prevented Baldwin from completing a comeback, 17-14 the final sending Patterson’s group to 1-3 overall.

For the second time in September, Baldwin had a bye weekend, which means it’s six weekends in a row with a region game through the end of October.

“The bye week was good,” said Patterson. “It allowed us to work on ourselves, get those reps in on the areas we need to improve. It allowed us to get healthier, get some guys healed up. It is a long season, so guys are going to have to play through injuries. When you get a bye week and take some stress off the body, it’s always a good thing. We maxed out in the weight room, got some good practices in and had a little time to rest.

“We’re in it for the long haul now.”