A.L. Johnson win over Keith sets stage for battle with Linden

THOMASTON – A 48-13 win over Keith Friday night set the stage for sixth-ranked A.L. Johnson’s huge Region 1 battle at Linden High next Friday.

“We are looking forward to playing Linden,” said A.L. Johnson head coach Johnny Ford. “It’s been 10 or 12 years since A.L. Johnson has beaten Linden, and it’s never happened since Andro (Williams) has been there. We are looking forward to the challenge.”

Ford said the key to facing Linden, a perennial region title contender, will be mental preparation. “We’ve got to prepare, then not make mistakes and take advantage of opportunities presented to us,” the coach said.

Regarding the Keith contest, Ford called his Eagles’ effort an “overall great game. We still had a couple of penalties that hurt us, but overall we played well. We had a lot of points off of takeaways,” he added.

Ford said his team is playing at a level he hoped it would at this point in the season, “except for a couple of mistakes here and there.”

Friday’s win over Keith boosts A.L. Johnson to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in Region 1. Linden will enter the contest 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the Region.