Demopolis eyes showdown with Jackson

DHS vs Satsuma-9350Demopolis (6-2, 4-2) will round out Region 3 play Thursday night when it hosts Class 5A’s No. 3 team, Jackson.

In the Aggies, Demopolis finds a team that has outscored opponents 375-74 while not tallying less than 34 points or surrendering more than 21 in a game all season to this point.

“I think they’re probably a little better than they were last year. They seem to be playing together as a group and are a little more balanced than they were on offense,” Demopolis coach Tom Causey said of the Aggies. “Defensively, believe it or not, they run to the ball a little faster than they did last year.”

The Aggie defense is run by former Demopolis High assistant coach Jeremy Sullivan while the offense is overseen by head coach Danny Powell.

“Jeremy Sullivan runs their defense and I think the world of Coach Sullivan for what he does on the field and as a man,” Causey said. “Coach Powell, obviously, is very successful and has been. He’s a dang good man.”

The Aggie offense is triggered by signal-caller Matthew Jordan, a dual-threat Georgia Tech commit.

DHS vs Satsuma-9302“Don’t miss tackles. When you get a chance to tackle him, you’ve got to tackle him,” Causey said of the key to defending Jordan. “We’ve got to not make alignment mistakes and give them big plays based off alignment. If they get a big play, they’ve got to earn it. We’ve just got to make sure when we get a hat on him, we’ve got to get him down. We can’t let him keep running.”

Jordan is not Jackson’s only Division I prospect as the defense is anchored by an Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game selection and a Tennessee commit in middle linebacker Gavin Bryant.

“Gavin Bryant, he’s in the all-star game, committed to Tennessee. I think he has gotten better from last year. When he sees (the ball), he’s gone,” Causey said. “He’s big and he’s physical and he’s extremely fast. He’ll be the best inside backer we’ve seen this year.”

And while Jackson has talent among their starters, Causey believes the real difference between the Aggies and many other teams comes when those starters are off the field.

DHS vs Satsuma-9156“They’ve got depth. A lot of times when twos come in the game, you notice a significant difference. With them, not so much,” Causey said.

For Demopolis, meeting the challenge presented by Jackson will mandate building off of the successes it found last week in a 49-7 win over Satsuma.

“I thought we played better team football. We eliminated a lot of sill mistakes. We were more consistent with what we were doing,” Causey said. “You knew where guys were going to be and it makes play calling a little easier. I think, defensively, other than one drive, we did what we were supposed to do. I’m really proud of what our twos did when they went into the game on both sides of the football.”

The Satsuma game marked one of the few times this season Demopolis has played with most of its starters and key reserves healthy and available.

“It was good to have most of our guys back last week. Hopefully we can keep it together the last couple of games and then head into the playoffs,” Causey said.

While the visiting Aggies have already sewn up the Region 3 championship, Demopolis is still fighting for a playoff berth. A win over Jackson would clinch the No. 3 seed for the Tigers while a loss would send Demopolis to a non-region week 10 contest with Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa in need of a victory to clinch a tie-breaker over Selma and Greenville.