AMERICUS — When you talk to Southland Academy senior Brett Collier, you may see a little scar on his nose. And when you ask him when it happened, he’ll tell you it occurred against Tatnall Square.
That was Sept. 9, and according to Collier, that game is history.
But every time you ask a Southland player during the season who or what they team they would most like to play, every one of them will say Tatnall.
The Raiders lost that first matchup, but the day is finally here when they can get a little redemption.
Southland (10-2) will host Tatnall (11-1) tonight at Harvey Simpson Stadium at 7:30 p.m. to earn the right of being called GISA AAA champions.
“This is the state championship game,” senior Nathan Winn said. “I’ll get a little nervous because it’s my last game. I really want to do my best and come out and perform like I know I can. Just knowing you have a possibility of getting a ring for this, it’s something you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”
The first loss to Tatnall has been a measuring stick for the Raiders. Most players say they did nothing right defensively, and it showed as the Trojans scored 48 points. But if a team can peak at just the right time, it seems that would be the Raiders.
They have won nine games in a row and allowed just 67 points in those games. They have four shutouts in that span, and the defense held the top rusher in the GISA in Carl Robinson to just 32 yards last week.
The Raiders also have a trio of running backs in Nico Gabrielli (1,401 yds., 15 TDs), Winn (1,307 yds., 16 TDs) and Chase Willis (683, 5TDs).
But more than anything, Southland feels tonight’s game is about respect.
“We got humiliated at home, and we need to show our fans that was a fluke game,” senior quarterback Blaze Hargrove said. “We’re a lot better team now than we were then, and we have to come out here and prove it.”
Southland and Tatnall were dubbed as two of the top teams in AAA this season along with defending champion Riverside Military. Southland stumbled out to a 1-2 record while Tatnall was on cruise control with the exception of its lone loss, a 27-20 defeat to Riverside.
While Southland will look to it’s “three-headed monster” to carry the load, Tatnall has a dup of its own in quarterback Brett Layson and running back Jimmy Intorcia.
Intorcia has rushed for 2,055 yards and 15 touchdowns while Layson has rushed for 1,296 yards and an astounding 31 touchdowns.
The two had a field day against the Raiders the first time, rushing for 395 yards. The Raiders feel like they are in a similar situation as last week. They shut down Robinson, and coach Jack Harris said to do that this week they will have to continue to play keep away with the clock.
He also said the defense has to tackle better.
“(Layson) is an excellent athlete who makes good decisions, and he’s big, strong and fast,” Harris said. “When you put the fullback (Darius) Green and Jimmy Intorcia in there, they are very dangerous.
“The one thing we’ve got to do this time we didn’t do is tackle. We have to located the football better, and we have to tackle in numbers.”
Since the fourth week of the season, the Raiders have adopted the motto, “play fast.” Collier said the team looked as if it was running through mud early in the season, but now it’s ready for the challenge of taking on the Trojans.
“Now everybody’s flying to the football,” he said. “We have 11 hats on the ball, and we’re going 11 strong.”
All the talk has been about Tatnall’s two players, and the defense has been kind of overlooked. Harris said the Trojans’ defense is playing its best of the season and the Raiders will have their hands full.
Southland scored 27 points the first time, but Hargrove said Tatnall couldn’t stop them.
“They didn’t stop us, we stopped ourselves,” he said. “As long as we don’t turn the ball over and stop them as much as we can, we have a good shot.”
Southland last won a state championship in 1992, and that was the second of a repeat, both wins against Tatnall.
Harris has three state titles to his name, and he said the Raiders are ready to bring the tradition back.
“The one thing I’ve tried to rely on since I’ve been here was the tradition,” he said. “It’s very few times that men get to go through a championship week and have the ability to play for a championship. For those kids to be a part of that experience is wonderful.”
The Raiders know they enter as underdogs, but Winn said he likes it that way.
“We’re the ones pinned down right now,” he said. “But as soon as the game starts, they’re going to see things a little bit differently than they think.”
Local Sports
Raiders ready for redemption
GISA AAA championship
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