This week’s SK Media Game of the Week presented by Mitchell Enterprises features two teams fighting for playoff seed superiority: the Emerald Vikings and the Laurens Raiders. Emerald, who sits at 4-4, have won two of their three region games thus far and have an opportunity to be tied for second in Region 1-4A with a victory and a Wren loss. Laurens, with a 1-7 overall record, sit at 1-2 in region play and can take possession of third place in the region behind Westside and Wren.
However, there’s another motivating factor for this game: these two schools have never met in football. Getting the first victory in the series and leaving their mark in history is something that players from both teams will be hungry to do, setting up a game that could be an all-time classic.
The Viking defense, led by a dominant front seven, will pose a threat to a Laurens offense that has been largely inconsistent this season. Kam Langford, who has collected 92 tackles, has performed as advertised alongside Chris Foster, who has taken a major step up at linebacker this season, racking up 128 tackles thus far. The Raiders offensive line has struggled at times, and if this game is one of those times, the Emerald defense is going to take advantage.
The good news for the Raiders is the Vikings offense has been inconsistent at times as well. Pair that with a Laurens defense that can play just as good as anybody, and we are going to have ourselves a ballgame. Linebacker Jamauri Williams is the Raiders’ leading tackler with 52 total tackles and has also added five sacks. Laurens also possesses a nice trio of senior defensive backs in Javaye Suber, Tyj Jones and Nidez Williams. While all three can force turnovers, Williams is the sole starting defensive back that has yet to surrender a score this season.
Offensively, both teams are going to have to play an adept game to pull out a victory. Emerald possesses a rushing attack that can feature up to six players, including K.D. Abney, A.J. Anderson, Chris Dean, Key Holloway and Foster. Dean is the team’s leading rusher with 414 yards, followed by Abney who has put up 359. Foster has added 154 yards and four touchdowns on just 16 attempts for a whopping 9.6 yards per carry. Laurens, on the other hand, mainly relies on two guys to do the dirty work on the ground: Nemo Fernandez and Denari Lee-Jackson. Fernandez had rushed for 458 yards while Lee-Jackson has rushed for over 100 yards. Both defensive lines, particularly Marquise Anderson and A.J. Anderson for Emerald and Micheal Brown and Demyjah Watts for Laurens, are going to have their hands full in this one.
Since Will Thompson’s return under center for Laurens, their offense has changed drastically. While the Raiders primary option is to keep the ball on the ground, they have been able to keep teams honest with the threat of a passing attack. This is Thompson’s first season as a starter, and he has shown flashes that he can get the job done in the games in which he has played. Emerald’s quarterback, freshman Beau Hite, has also shown flashes of being a good varsity quarterback this season, though has still looked young at times. This is one of the biggest games of the season for both teams, so both quarterbacks will be required to step up to lead their team to victory.
Prediction: Expect a back-and-forth affair at Frank Hill stadium, with both teams making big plays to swing momentum. Ultimately, the Vikings’ experience in close games gives them the edge. Emerald over Laurens 30-27.