OPELIKA ATHLETICS
The Opelika Bulldogs used a strong defense and a quick start offense to pound the Northview Cougars 31-7 to improve to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in region 3. The night was also special for Amy Canada, the senior at O.H.S. was crowned queen at halftime. She received the most votes from fellow students to win the award.
The Dawg defense was a force all night. Northview finished with only 140 yards of offense and scored the only touchdown on a fumble recovery that was returned 65 yards for the T.D. Head coach Brian Blackmon praised his defense after the game, “Wow our defense played with so much intensity and heart. We have had injuries in key positions and we keep fighting with out making excuses.”
Opelika scored their first touchdown when junior Paul Rowe returned a punt 46, Taylor Daniel added the p.a.t. with 5:23 to lead 7-0. Sophomore running back Cameron Hill dashed 20 yards off left tackle for the 2nd score and Daniel added the point after to make it a 14 point lead. Hill started in the backfield to help senior Corey Grant who was moved to the slot back after the injuries to several key offensive players. Grant ran for 60 yards on 7 carries, he had a 60 yard touchdown run called back due to a penalty. “We had to get Corey some help, teams are beginning to isolate on him and Hill stepped up in the backfield”, coach Blackmon added. Rowe scored his 2nd touchdown on a 10 yard run with 8:44 left in the 2nd quarter. Grant scored the last touchdown for Opelika on a 24 yard sprint with 4:00 left in the half. Taylor Daniel added the last points for the Dawgs connecting on a 37 yard field goal, he was also a perfect 4 for 4 on extra points. The Bulldogs also were able to use starting quarterback Dalton Pritchett who has been out for 2 weeks due to a concussion. The sophomore was 7 for 13 for 110 yards.
In the second half both teams played a lot of players and scored no points.
Opelika will travel to Smith Station Friday night to play the Panthers in another key region game. The Panthers are 2-5 overall and 0-5 in region 3. Coach Mark Rose is in his 2nd season as head coach of the Panther program and has a better team than the record shows. Last week Smiths Station held a 36-35 lead over Enterprise with less than a minute to play. The Wildcats managed to score very late to win 41-36. Quarterback Michael Nolin, who threw for over 200 yards last week, will lead the Panthers along with Rod Austin and Marcus Bilbrew on offense and will use a hustling defense to try and upset Opelika. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. You can hear all of the action on the Opelika radio network starting at 6:30 with the Coach Blackmon pre-game show on 97.7 KICKER F.M. or on the internet at www.kickerfm.com.
CROSS COUNTRY
The varsity cross country team will travel to Kiesel Park in Auburn Saturday the 17th for the Tiger Classic.
8th GRADE FOOTBALL
The Opelika 6th grade football team will travel to Troup County to play Long Cane Thursday at 5:00 o’clock.
VARSITY BASKETBALL
Varsity boys coach John Wadsworth started practice this past Monday in his 3rd season as head coach. Coach Wadsworth teams have improved every year finishing 2nd in the region last year and finishing with 19 wins. The team has worked all summer in the gym and weight room and looks to be ready for a state play-off run this season. The first game is scheduled for November 20th against Lanett at the Sports Arena. The football team could put a hold on the start of the season if they are still in the playoffs.
YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT OPELIKA ATHLETICS BY GOING TO THE INTERNET AND TYPING IN www.thedawgnetwork.com. YOU WILL FIND ALL KINDS OF INFORMATION THAT WILL HELP YOU KEEP UPDATED WITH THE LATEST INFORMATION ON O.H.S. SPORTS.
YOU CAN LISTEN TO “ON THE MARK” RADIO PROGRAM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING FROM 7A.M. TO 9A.M. ON WTLM 1520 AM ON THE RADIO OR ON THE INTERNET AT www.kickerfm.com, CLICK ON SPORTS ON THE MAIN PAGE, THEN CLICK ON THE MARK BANNER.