The Student News Site of Stratford Academy

Stratford Gazebo

The Student News Site of Stratford Academy

Stratford Gazebo

The Student News Site of Stratford Academy

Stratford Gazebo

Eagles are well-grounded

‘Three-headed beast’ leads offensE

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SENIOR RUSSELL MOLE HAS EMERGED AS THE LEADING RUSHER FOR THE EAGLES THIS SEASON HEADING INTO FRIDAY’S SHOWDOWN  AGAINST TATTNALL SQUARE. (Photo Courtesy of Stratford Sports Information.)

BY DAVID MATLOCK, Gazebo Sports Writer

The Stratford Eagles hosted the Wilkinson County Warriors this past week for their homecoming matchup. The Eagles beat the Warriors with authority in a 50-23 victory and dominated the Warriors with more than 500 yards of total offense, including 440 on the ground.

Kasey Sanders lead the Stratford attack with 235 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.  Russell Mole added 78 yards and two touchdowns, and Tyler Jordan had 78 yards and one touchdown.

The Stratford rushing offense has been a team effort all season. Sanders,  Mole and Jordan have combined for more than 1,500 yards on the ground. The “three-headed beast” is responsible for 17 of Stratford’s 26 rushing touchdowns.

“The Wing-T, which is the offense our team runs, is a team-oriented offense,” said Eagles Head Coach Mark Farriba. “You can’t rely on just one person because you need blockers, fakers, and runners.

“I don’t think there is just one guy. I don’t ever really look at stats, but I believe the Russell, Kasey and Tyler have a balanced attack.”

Sanders rushed for 800 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. This season, he has run for 518 yards and three touchdowns.

Sanders doesn’t care about the stats. He loves the “committee” approach.

“I don’t really care for numbers. All I want to do is win at the end of the day,”  he said. “If it’s me that has to make it happen, or it’s me having to let the ball go somewhere else, then I am happy. This season has taught me all about sharing to win.”

Jordan has totaled 490 yards and six scores this season. A starter on last year’s state Class A semifinal team, he could easily complain about lack of touches since he hopes to play in college. But he recognizes his role in the offense.

“Every time I have the ball, I just try to make a play, and when I don’t, I try to block well so Kasey and Russell have openings to do what they do with the ball,” Jordan said.

Jordan and Sanders were expected to be the bellcow backs for this season, and rightfully so as they have put up tremendous numbers.

However, an unexpected player stepped up this year, and he leads the “three-headed” committee in yards and scores –Russell Mole.

Mole, who had been a wide receiver the past two years, leads the Eagles with 539 yards rushing and eight touchdowns. Mole was expecting to fill the shoes of Quintez Cephus this season, but the coaching staff had a different plan.

Russell said his transition from receiver to wingback was a bit difficult, and he did not even want to be a rusher at first.

“It was hard to adjust…at first, I have to be honest, I hated the decision to move me to wingback because I loved wide receiver so much,” Mole said. “But I had to do what what was best for the team, and now I love being in that “Big Three” threat with Tyler and Kasey.”

While the rushing committee has proven effective this season, the Eagles will need to be at peak performance Friday versus the undefeated Tattnall Trojans.

The Trojans boast a stout run defense, and they proved so in their win versus Twiggs County.

Twiggs has the top rusher in the subregion in Ja’mon Height, who was held to just 104 yards rushing by the Trojans.

Farriba said the key to beating Tattnall is “blocking people.”

“It’s the same every week,” said the Eagles coach. “Know your assignment. Get to the target. Execute.”

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TYLER JORDAN (4) TURNS UPFIELD, FOLLOWING THE BLOCKING OF RUSSELL MOLE. (PHOTO COURTESY OF STRATFORD SPORTS INFORMATION)

 

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Eagles are well-grounded