Kris Pickle understands not many people would have predicted his New Hope High School football team to be undefeated entering the ninth week of the 2014 season.
After all, it’s easy for very few people to have high expectations for your program when it has suffered through three-straight losing seasons.
That’s why Pickle couldn’t help thinking earlier this week that his team was in a win-win situation as it prepares for its game against Oxford at 7 p.m. Friday night. The matchup will feature the only two remaining undefeated teams in Class 5A, Region 1. New Hope (7-0, 3-0 region) is coming off a 27-12 victory against Lake Cormorant, while Oxford (3-0 region) handled Lewisburg 49-26.
“We have nothing to lose,” Pickle said. “I think they have everything in the world to lose. We have nothing to lose. Nobody expects us to win. Nobody expects us to even play with them.”
The Chargers, the Class 5A runner-up in 2013, are averaging more than 41 points per game. Oxford’s only loss was a 52-29 decision to Class 6A power Starkville, the state’s top-ranked team on Aug. 29. Since then, the Chargers have won six straight and have scored at least 41 points in each game, including a 43-22 victory against West Point on Sept. 26. The Chargers outscored the Green Wave 28-0 in the second half of that game.
That shouldn’t be a surprise to New Hope, which has lost the last two meetings against Oxford (39-14 in 2013 and 29-17 in 2012). Prior to that, New Hope won three in a row in the series dating back to 2009.
Pickle, who is in his first year after serving as head coach at Morton High, understands Oxford is just as big a rival as West Point for New Hope, which is why he believes his players won’t have any problem rebounding from a slow start last week.
“They want to beat Oxford bad,” Pickle said. “I asked them several months ago which game on your schedule you would like to win, who would it be? Every one of them said Oxford. I don’t know what it is. They have a good rivalry in baseball. Historically, they have played them well the past couple of years.”
As much as he feels his team will be fired up to play Oxford, Pickle also knows his team can’t get over-hyped because it has three regions games remaining following the Oxford game. Despite a 3-0 start in the region, New Hope still has work to do if it wants to finish in the top four to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
Pickle doesn’t think the Trojans will allow one result to affect all of the hard work they have put in. Instead, he believes the players will be hungry to bounce back from a “flat” performance in which the team started slowly. A start like that could doom the Trojans against the Chargers. Led by junior quarterback Jack Abraham and junior wide receiver DeKaylin Metcalf, Oxford was averaging 295 yards passing and 156 rushing yards a game through six games.
“It is another game for them because they have been there and done that and they went to a state championship last year, but we’re trying to get to the point where we are mentioned in the same breath as Oxford, West Point, and Pearl and placed like that in the north,” Pickle said. “They are going to be nervous. That is just part of it, but once the game starts, all the nerves go away and it is just football. I expect our guys to come out and play extremely hard in the game. Win, lose, or draw, as long as they give us their best effort and put all of their heart into it, you’re not going to hear any fussing or complaining from me.”
New Hope enters the game averaging 166 yards passing and 202 yards rushing per game. Senior Stone Sisson, who is in his first year as the starter at quarterback, and junior running back Brenton Spann lead the offense. Defensively, New Hope has allowed only 64 points in region games, which is tied for first with Oxford and West Point, and 126 total points, which leads all teams in the region. That is a far cry from last season, when New Hope surrendered 56, 76, and 49 points in region losses.
Pickle was pleased how well the Trojans battled through adversity against Lake Cormorant. He said he would take the blame for not preparing the players, but he is glad that kind of effort, which he said he knew was coming, is out of his team’s system.
One week after arguably its most inconsistent effort, Pickle hopes New Hope can deliver its best effort of the season to put it in the driver’s seat in the region.
“Any time you play an experienced team that has been there, you’re going to have a challenge at your hands,” Pickle said. “But just like I told our kids, we have good players, too. Just because they have good players doesn’t mean it is over.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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