After entering the win column following a 47-6 drubbing of Christian Collegiate Academy, the Columbia Academy Cougars prepare for an unusually early district matchup at home against Centreville Academy Friday.
This matchup is a rematch from last season, where CA defeated Centreville in a high-scoring 42-30 affair when the pair were non-district foes. Following a reshuffling of MAIS athletic alignment, the pair open up district play as foes. CA head coach TC Chambliss said it’s a little weird starting district so early in the season, but that doesn’t change the importance of the game one bit, even if the Cougars are still learning about who they are.
“It doesn’t matter who you play. Anybody can beat anybody on any given Friday,” Chambliss said of what he told his team following the victory over CCA. “That’s just how the game works. We felt like, going in, we needed to learn how to play up to our potential instead of playing to whoever we’re playing against. That doesn’t matter if it’s against the Green Bay Packers or our peewee team. We need to play to our potential, not worry about who our opponent is.
“We’ve got to learn to dictate the game. We’re a young team, and we’re starting to do that. We have to continue to do that. Each week, we’re going to be looking for a different area of growth. A win’s a win, and every win is a big win. We haven’t been able to be dominant here in a long time. To be able to experience that and get these young guys to see what that tastes like, that’s big. They need to know what that feels like so they can be hungry for that going forward.”
Chambliss said that Centreville’s dynamic offense will provide problems for the Cougars, as they have an athletic quarterback, Parker Nettles, paired with a smash mouth attitude of wanting to run the football. Cougar fans saw plenty of John Austin Sterling, as Chambliss said he was the bulk of Centreville’s offense in last season’s meeting. He’s a wide receiver who’s skilled at running the go route and sluggo, and he also lines up at free safety.
“He toasted us last year, and we’ve got to be able to contain him,” Chambliss said. “And their running game, as long as coach (Bill) Hurst is the head coach of Centreville, they’re going to be smash mouth and fire off the football. They’re going to try to pound the rock. They’ve got a great staff over there that mixes things up. Their offense has gotten a little more dynamic throughout the years, but when it comes down to it, they’re going to be a physical, smash mouth team. If you can’t stop the run, it’s going to make for a long night.”
On the opposite side of the ball, Centreville has a gritty defense that is “coming to hit you in the mouth,” according to Chambliss. The Cougars found success both rushing and passing in last season’s matchup, so Chambliss said he expects more of the same in that regard.
“We feel a little bit more polished in the passing game than we were last year, but we’re not going to completely abandon the running game either,” Chambliss said. “We feel like we’re more diverse on offense than we’ve been. We want to give them fits and make them run sideline to sideline and do some things that’ll slow down their pass rush.”
Friday’s district matchup between CA and Centreville is scheduled for 7 p.m. at CA.
