Lamb and Maynord

break down Whitwell

2ND ROUND SHOWDOWN TONIGHT-Bulldog head coach Bruce Lamb (left) and offensive coordinator Jimmy Maynord (right) sat down with the Dale Hollow Horizon to preview Clay County’s Sweet 16 matchup with Whitwell tonight. Lamb said his team knows “it’s all on the line and hopefully will be ready to play,” while Maynord said his offense needs “to get the ball in space” to the team’s playmakers and “throw the ball some” in order to be successful tonight. (photo courtesy Kyndra Reagan/cchsmedia.zenfolio.com)

CELINA-In the first-ever second round playoff game to be held here at John Teeples Field, Region 4-A Champion Clay County (10-2) is set to play host to what CCHS head coach Bruce Lamb described as a “very good” Whitwell (9-2) team making a two-hour drive due north into the heart of Bulldog Country tonight.

“You don’t get to 9-2 by accident,” Lamb said of the Tigers, whose only losses have come to Region 3-A Champion South Pittsburg (9-2) and Class 3A Sequachie County (6-5).  “With the week of practice we’ve had, you can see our kids know what it means and they have prepared really well, because, when you get to this level of the playoffs, there’s not an easy game the rest of the way.

“Especially these nine seniors we’ve got, they know if we lose it’s over and you can’t get it back,” the 29-year veteran coach continued.  “You can’t go out and play football when you’re 25 years old.  You can play basketball, play golf, or whatever, but you can’t go play football.

“This is the last time for those guys and hopefully it is going to last few more weeks, but they know it’s all on the line and hopefully we will be ready to play.”

Lamb explained Whitwell relied on a power run game for the majority of their offense, which averages 31 points per game, but he said they could also strike through the air when needed.

“They are going to come out and try to stuff it down our throat and they are going to run the ball,” he said of the Tiger attack, “but they can throw it when they need to and throw it decently too.”

Defensively, current Clay County offensive coordinator and legendary former head coach Jimmy Maynord said the Whitwell defense was “going to be a challenge” for his high-octane Bulldogs, who put up 44 points per game on average.

Maynord is no stranger to playoff football, after making well over 30 postseason appearances during his illustrious 43-year career, including advancements to multiple semifinals and finals, along with winning a State Championship (Riverdale-1994).

“Every week it gets harder and tougher, and this week is no exception,” he said.  “When you get into these playoffs, we’ve got to go out there and perform and do what we do.”

Maynord said his unit needed to utilize the team’s wealth of offensive playmakers in order to be successful against Whitwell.

“Obviously we’ve got to get the ball in space—that’s what we do best—to our playmakers,” he explained.  “I feel like we’ve got to throw the football some.  They are an eight-man front, so they are going to keep a lot of people in the box, and basically a cover three team, but they are a very aggressive team.

“When there are eight people in the box, it makes it a little harder to run in between the tackles, so we’ve got to a do a really good job on the perimeter blocking,” Maynord continued.  “It’s going to be big for our wideouts to get hats on people so we can make some plays on the perimeter and complete some passes, move the chains, and hopefully get some big plays

“We’ve been a team of big plays all year.  That’s what we do.”

The veteran coach said he thought Clay County had the potential to not only beat Whitwell, but to make a deep run in the playoffs—which has been the expectation since Lamb assembled his staff to lead a team returning the majority of its starters from a 10-1 campaign a year ago.

“We know what the expectations are, but all we can do is prepare, go out and play, and hope that what we do is good enough to win, and if it’s not, hey, it’s been a great year,” Maynord said.  “These kids have really performed well.

“It has been an outstanding year regardless, but I think they are prepared and they are going to go out there and lay it on the line, and if it is good enough to win the football game that’s great, but if it’s not, then it’s been a great career for those nine seniors.”

With a victory over Whitwell, Clay County would host the winner of the South Pittsburg/Gordonsville (8-3) game next Friday night.

The Dawgs will be looking to avenge their second-round loss of last season if the Pirates come to town, while a Gordonsville win would set up a rematch of this season’s Region 4-A title game, where the Bulldogs beat the Tigers 27-20.

Coverage of the battle between the Dawgs and the Tigers begins at 6 p.m. with the Horizon Sports Network’s pregame show at www.dalehollowhorizon.com, where a full interview with Lamb and Maynord will be aired.

Live audio and video combined can also be found on the Dale Hollow Horizon Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dalehollowhorizon Friday night, thanks to the sponsorship of Bank of Celina.