Four weeks ago, Parkers Chapel squared off against Foreman, who is presently ranked No. 3 by the Associated Press and Hootens in this week’s rankings.
Tonight, the Trojans will get an up-close look at another one of 2A’s top teams by heading to Fordyce for an 8-2A showdown.
Game time is set for 7 p.m.
The Trojans (5-1, 2-0) enter having won three straight games with the 38 points they scored last week against Bearden serving as their lowest point total in their five wins.
The Redbugs (6-0, 2-0) are the top-ranked team in this week’s Associated Press 2A poll and are ranked second by Hootens.
Since upending Rison 14-8 in their season opener, Fordyce has laid waste to opponents, outscoring them 252-57 over the last five games.
“They’re going to be the best team we’ve seen,” Parkers Chapel coach Elliot Jacobs said of the Redbugs. “Athletes all over the field. They’re very fast. Very dangerous.”
Junior quarterback Jaheim Brown is adept at beating defenses both with his arm and feet.
He has completed 65 percent of his passes for 853 yards and 11 touchdowns with just two interceptions.
Brown is also one of five players with over 100 yards rushing this season.
Junior Ja’quez Cross leads the Redbugs with 25 catches for 395 yards and six scores, while senior Dearius Sledge has hauled in 14 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns.
But what makes the Redbugs so tough to defend is how solid they are in running two different offenses.
“We’ll seem them in the spread, and if they want to, they’ll jump into the Wing-T,” Jacobs said. “They’re very efficient in both. It goes through their quarterback, and he does a good job of getting the ball to his athletes. When they get into the Wing-T, you expect them to run the ball right at you and use their speed on sweeps and stuff like that.”
Defensively, Jacobs singled out junior linebacker Josh Harrington, who leads the team in tackles and tackles for a loss.
“The kid plays both ways, but he’s by far one of the best linebackers I’ve seen on film this year,” Jacobs said of the junior. “They fly to the football. They’ve got 11 bodies that are fanatically flying to the football on every snap.”
But while the challenge the Trojans face may seem daunting, Jacobs said his team is ready for it.
“It’s a good challenge for us, and the good thing about us is it doesn’t affect our goals at all, so we feel like we’re playing with house money,” Jacobs said. “We’re going to go in there with nothing to lose and just try to execute our brand of football.”
Like the Redbugs, the Trojans also have several playmakers on offense with three players over 100 yards rushing for the year and four with more than 10 catches and 100 yards receiving.
“The depth really does help,” Jacobs said. “The fact that our kids, if we want to, they only go one way, and coach (Steven) Bates does a good job of making sure everybody gets the right touches. We chart that in the game. We want to make sure we’re distributing the ball as much as possible. That way one team can’t just focus on one of our athletes.”
If the Trojans are to upend the Redbugs, Jacobs said his team must avoid turnovers.
“Offensively, take care of the football. Defensively, force turnovers, and special teams, take care of the football. They do a real good job of forcing turnovers,” Jacobs said. “In a few of the games I’ve seen, they’ve scored at least three touchdowns via special teams whether it’s a punt return, fumbled punt. One team onside kicked, and they scooped the ball and scored, so they do a good job of when they get a turnover of taking it to the house. We’ve got to limit those.”