Demopolis gearing up for explosive B.C. Rain squad
Demopolis is hosting the No. 4 seed out of Region 1 in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs Friday and while most higher-seeded teams generally expect a cakewalk when staring across the bracket at a 4 seed, DHS coach Tom Causey feels no such ease.
“They’re so athletic,” Causey said of the Red Raiders. “They’re a Tony Franklin system on offense and they stick to their plan.”
The Red Raiders enter the contest at 4-6 overall, having sustained losses to Class 7A Benjamin Russell and Baker as well as region foes and 5A powers St. Paul’s, Jackson and Vigor. Rain also lost 28-26 to Satsuma back on Aug. 29.
Since a 38-24 loss to Jackson Oct. 10, the Red Raiders have reeled off three straight wins, scoring 137 points along the way while surrendering only 41.
“Terrance Nelson is one of the fastest players I’ve seen in 20 years of coaching,” Causey said of the Rain senior wideout. “They’ve got a running back who is small and really tough to tackle. I don’t know how to explain it, but when you watch Nick Marshall and you just don’t know why people have a hard time tackling him, that’s this guy.”
That explosive offense gives Causey pause as he knows his team can ill afford to set the Red Raiders up on a short field.
“We’re going to have our hands full this week. We’ve got to make sure we’re hitting our marks, hitting our spots and not turning the football over on offense,” Causey said. “Their offense is so explosive that they can score from anywhere on the field. Last week against Kipp Renaissance (La.), they took the opening kickoff back for a score and then took the opening play from scrimmage 95 yards for a score.”
The Tigers head into the contest eight days after falling 39-29 to Class 6A Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa.
“Obviously the speed of the game we needed to see and the physicality we needed to see,” Causey said. “Our guys responded t that. Defensively, I thought we played well enough to win following their opening two drives.”
Demopolis and B.C. Rain are set for kickoff at 7 p.m. at Tiger Stadium in Demopolis.