For Junction City and Smackover, Week 0 brought vastly different results.
The Bucks rolled up 462 yards of total offense with 411 of those yards coming on the ground in a 36-0 win over Parkers Chapel, while Junction City fell at Harmony Grove 39-0, surrendering four touchdowns of more than 70 yards.
Tonight, the Union County rivals collide at David Carpenter Stadium with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
The Dragons (0-1) have won the last two meetings, while the Bucks (1-0) are looking for their first win in the series since 2018.
Both schools sport dynamic backfields.
The Smackover junior tandem of Jarius Burgie and Daylon Curley combined for 345 yards rushing last week against the Trojans. Junction City’s Jamal Johnson and AJ Ivory have been pivotal in the Dragons’ success that includes a trip to the 2A state finals in 2019 and a run to the semifinals last year.
“They can fly. They hit the edge and they’re gone,” Junction City coach Brad Smith said of the duo. “They have unbelievable speed. We’re going to have to play really, really well. We had trouble with speed last week.”
Smackover coach David Osborn was pleased with what he saw from the juniors.
“They both had really good games,” Osborn said. “Both backs see the hole well and make good cuts. We have to continue to play downhill and be on the attack. For us to have success, we have to continue to improve on the front.”
If the Bucks are to have success in moving the ball on the ground, they will look to senior Lamon Hicks to lead the way.
“Lamon Hicks had a huge night for us on the line,” Osborn said. “He had multiple pancake blocks and several key defensive stops that had a major impact in the game.”
Johnson had 103 yards with Ivory adding 82 yards against the Hornets, and Osborn said the Bucks will have their hands full trying to keep the Dragons’ ground game in check.
“They do a good job of running downhill,” Osborn said. “You have to step up and take it on or they are gaining three, four yards a play minimum. They have done a lot of things with alignment in the past and will try to overload you and overpower you at the point of attack.
“Last week, we saw a lot of spread sets and trying to get people out of the box. It wouldn’t surprise me this week to see spread and also for them to come out in more of a heavy look and try to pound on us some.”
Smith said the Dragons must find a way to combat the Bucks’ team speed.
“They’re very fast,” Smith said. “Every time I’ve seen them on film, they’re running away from everybody they’re playing. They have skill kids everywhere. The line blocks really well. It’s going to be a really tough game.”
The Bucks pulled away methodically from Parkers Chapel, leading 12-0 at the end of the first quarter and 20-0 at halftime before winning by the final margin with Burgie and Curley each scoring a pair of touchdowns.
“Overall, I thought our kids played well,” Osborn said. “We are still young and trying to improve each game. We saw some areas of improvement and some areas that we need to work on. I felt like our conditioning had improved from the scrimmage. I also like how our kids played to the end and came up with a goal-line stop on the last play of the game.”
After winning only one game last year, the Bucks head into Junction City with confidence, but Osborn said his team must stay focused on the Dragons and not reflect on last week.
“Anytime you can start the year 1-0, it’s a good feeling and that following Monday at school always tends to go a little better,” Osborn said. “Our kids just need to understand that we have to put that game behind us and move on to the next one. The only game anyone focuses on is the one you are about to play, leave anything that happened in the past.”
The Dragons and Hornets played a scoreless first quarter, but Harmony Grove scored twice in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the first half to take a 19-0 lead at intermission, and the Dragons never recovered.
“We were playing really well, competing,” Smith said. “We made a bunch of offensive mistakes that took away a couple of drives. Then all of a sudden, something bad happened and we did not handle it very well. That was it in a nutshell. We did not handle negativity very well. We got down on ourselves, we quit believing and that’s why it got where it got.”
Penalties were an issue for the Dragons, who had 13 in the game along with three turnovers.
“That happened the entire first half,” Smith said. “We gave away whatever advantage that we had going. When you play somebody as good as they are, you’re not going to get away with that.”
The big scoring plays generated 391 yards of total offense for the Hornets.
“Almost every one of them, it was one or two guys not being in the right place,” Smith said. “We overran one, we didn’t close another, safety took bad angles and missed a couple of tackles. That’s it in a nutshell when you’re playing dynamite speed.”
Osborn is expecting a Junction City squad that will be eager to bounce back from last week.
“Junction is a solid team,” Osborn said. “Things didn’t work out the way they wanted against Harmony Grove, but we know that Junction will be a big test for us. Junction is very big, fast, aggressive, and as always, strong. We will have to do a good job of playing as a team and try to take advantage of any break in the game that goes our way.”
If history is any indication, last week’s loss could become just a speed bump for the Dragons.
In 2018, the Dragons were downed 33-0 at Haynesville (La.). After that setback, the Dragons ran the table on their way to the 2A state championship.
“You can handle it one of two ways,” Smith said. “It will either be the best thing to happen to you or something really bad. It all depends on how we handle it. We got tore up like that in ‘18 and came back and ran off so many in a row. A good rear-end kicking, if you learn from it, it has its place in this game. You don’t like them, but if you learn from them, there’s benefit to be had if you can accept it.”
If the Bucks are to pick up their first win in the series in three years, Osborn said his team must avoid miscues.
“Limit our mistakes and take advantage of anything they give us,” he said. “Playing at Junction always makes it harder, because they have good crowds who can impact a game. We are young in a lot of spots and we just need to go play. Take care of ourselves and play to our best level. That’s all I can ask of my guys when they go into a game. We feel like if we take care of those things, we have a chance any time we step on the field.”
For Smith, there is simply one thing he is looking for from his team.
“Consistency,” Smith said. “That’s all we’re looking for. Be consistent. We’ve consistently got to go play to play. That’s it. We were horribly inconsistent on both sides of the football and it showed. We’d have great plays. I think we had five, six, seven tackles for losses, and then give up five bombs. That’s not a good deal. Consistency.”