Although Columbia is taking on a winless Forrest County AHS team Friday night, the Wildcats would be wise to overlook the Aggies’ record and not take them lightly.
Forrest County AHS (0-6, 0-2) has played an extremely tough schedule and features one of the best playmakers in Class 4A in quarterback Avery Sledge, who is committed to Tulane and lit up West Marion.
“Everything starts with the quarterback (Sledge),” Columbia head coach Chip Bilderback said. “They will line him up in different spots, and he’ll be there for a reason. Our challenge is just identifying where he’s at, identifying formations and what we think we’re going to get from, but the bottom line is our kids just need to continue to improve and get better.
“We don’t need to be satisfied with where we are. It’s important that we have a great week of practice. I do think with where we’re at in our program that we get everyone’s best game no matter what their record is. We always tell our kids we’re 0-0 this week, and our goal is to be 1-0 come Friday night by 10 o’clock.”
Sledge, who is listed at 6-foot-3, is a long strider with blazing speed once he gets going. He’s not all that accurate as a passer, but he definitely has the arm strength to throw deep balls.
On the flip side, the Aggies have had a hard time this season stopping the run, which plays perfectly into what the Wildcats want to do offensively.
Bilderback said he’s looking forward to playing at Forrest County AHS because the current Wildcats have never played in Brooklyn and experienced that atmosphere.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
