Decatur (1-1) vs. Riverwood (0-2)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9
Where: Riverwood
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Decatur has plenty incentive going into its first road game this season at Riverwood.
First is a desire to thoroughly flush out last week’s dismal 20-6 loss to South Atlanta which featured three turnovers, confused pass blocking (leading to five quarterback sacks and virtually no time for sophomore Vito Antinozzi to contemplate a pass, much less throw one) and a whopping nine penalties, including five consecutive illegal procedure calls.
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“It doesn’t get much worse than [last week],” head coach Price Jones said Thursday. “But that’s over and done. We’ve had a good week of practice. I’m convinced more than ever there’s nothing wrong with any of our schemes.
“It comes down to making plays,” he said. “You have to catch the daggone ball. Once you catch it you have to hold onto it. And you have to make tackles. If you don’t make plays, no scheme in the world is gonna work.”
For those with memories slightly longer than one week, another incentive is last year’s turnover-ridden 31-21 loss to Riverwood, one of only three wins all year for the Fulton County School.
One Riverwood touchdown came after a snap sailed over Antinozzi’s head and was recovered in the end zone.
Another came when fullback Quendarius Hall, after getting stopped for a short loss, and thinking the whistle had blown, began handing the ball to the ref, only to have a Riverwood lineman grabbed it and ramble 55 yards for a touchdown.
But a definite silver lining in that one was Antinozzi, then only a freshman, who had his first big night as a varsity quarterback, completing 14 of 24 passes for 157 yards or 11.2 yards per completion.
“I think we can throw a lot against them [Friday],” Jones said. “But our game plan right now is to stay with what I believe in, and that’s running the football and controlling the line of scrimmage. If we can do that, we can open it up some by throwing.”
Jones said his team’s as healthy as it’s been all season.
Sophomore Nick Bentley, hobbled by a sprained right ankle since mid-summer, was limping noticeably after last week’s game, though he rushed for a game-high 90 yards.
But Jones said Bentley is “much better,” and that also freshman halfback sensation Tommy Renfroe, who didn’t play last week, will see action Friday.
