Baldwin looks to continue roll in Macon

Published 12:00 pm Wednesday, October 30, 2024

As scary as it may sound, Baldwin High football has different Halloween plans this year. On Thursday, the Braves will battle a band of Huskies at Thompson Stadium with a 7 p.m. kickoff. Kevin Patterson and the Braves are looking for a big treat, as in a Region 4-AAA championship or even a runner-up finish to play at least one home game in the GHSA state first round.

The Baldwin and Howard High rivalry has been lopsided to say the least, all nine previous meetings won by Baldwin. It was never tighter, though, than one year ago when the Braves pulled out a 20-19 win at home.

Playing Howard on Thursday represents the second game in a row in which the Braves will meet a team that lost to Harlem High in a region game the week before. That was the case with last week’s foe, Westside-Augusta, and also last weekend Harlem defeated the Huskies at home 32-13. Under first-year head coach Trey Porter, Howard is 4-3 with a one-point loss, 28-27, to West Laurens in region play.

Baldwin is in a three-way tie for first place in 4-AAA as it, West Laurens and Harlem all have one loss. The Braves have won three straight since the season resumed from the Helene delay to stand at 4-3 overall, 4-1 in the region.

“They do a good job of running the ball on offense,” said Patterson about Howard, who put 42 on the board against both Hephzibah and Cross Creek. “They are a triple-option team from the shotgun. They have an athletic quarterback who runs the ball. They hand off on the dive, or he can pull it back and pitch the ball. They will attack you down the field throwing the ball, and they also love the screens.

“We have to do a good job of assignment football, who has the dive, who has the (QB), who has the pitch. Then we have to take away the screen game on the perimeter. We have to be physical on the perimeter. I think that’s what they do best, run on the option and throw on the perimeter with screens.”

Patterson said the Howard line is big, but he thinks it’s a good matchup with the Baldwin line. If there is an advantage to be had up front, the coach thinks it’s called ‘Q’ Russell.

“They have to account for him,” he said. “We are going to move him around so people can’t get a bead on him … put him in the middle, put him outside. He’s going to be a disruptive guy. I’m glad he’s playing for us.”

The Braves aren’t coming up with any special offensive plans based on the Howard defensive scheme.

“We’re going to do what we do,” said Patterson. “We are going to try to impose our will on them. We run the ball, depend on the big guys up front, and that sets up our passing game. The other night we had some explosives down the field catching the vertical ball. That really helps open things up. (Lamar Pounds) has to continue to do a good job of decision making, knowing when to pull the ball and scramble.”

Baldwin defeated Westside-Augusta 42–21 with about 500 yards of offense behind Pounds at quarterback and six rushing touchdowns. It was a career night for tight end Jaylen “Boom” King with around 110 receiving yards plus tackles for a loss from his defensive end position.

“I tell him all the time, ‘To whom much is given, much is required,’” said Patterson. “He’s been blessed with a skill set. I told him if any defensive coordinator has anything good about him, he’s going to work to take you away. (King) has to continue to practice hard and understand people are going to prepare. We will continue to get the ball in his hands. He makes us better offensively and defensively.”

As for Pounds, the coach said he made plays Friday not every quarterback can based on both speed and arm strength. Two of his deep passes were caught on the 2, and one was on a side-to-side sprint away from pursuers. Jaquan Hill had a catch on the 2 plus a touchdown run, and Patterson said he’s had an up-and-down year but is settling in at receiver and gaining confidence.

What Baldwin faces is not only a game that’s not on the Howard campus and on a holiday, but also the first of three games in 10 days to make up for lost time due to Helene.

“Anytime you play on the road, focus can be a problem,” said Patterson. “And it’s Thursday night. All of those things can take us away from our normal realm we have on Friday night. But it’s still going to be 12-minute quarters. It’s not a long trip, so we have to lock in and focus. We have to be able to handle the adversity better than the other team. Everybody’s dealing with this mass of games at the end; who’s going to handle it better?”