By Ken K. Green Lamar County and Pike County meet in the 29th renewal of the Battle of Potato Creek this week. The Trojans are 1-0-1 for the season while the Pirates are 1-1. It is no longer a region game as Pike moved up to AAA in the GHSA’s bi-annual reclassification but it’s still a fierce rivalry for the two schools a mere 12 miles apart. The winner earns bragging rights for the next year along with the navy and red Creek jersey. When and Where: Friday 7:30 p.m. at Trojan Field. Tickets: All tickets $7 at the gate. Unlimited advanced tickets for the general public for $7 available at Slice’s on Main Street through one o’clock Friday. Advanced discounted tickets for Lamar County School System students, faculty and staff (one per person) only for $5 available at all four schools through one o’clock Friday. Weather: Mostly clear with no chance of precipitation. The temperature will be in the mid 70’s at kick-off and around 70 at game’˜s end. WARNING: A Big Blue storm is making its way up Potato Creek and will wreak havoc on any pirate ships entering Thunder Alley. Common opponents: The Pirates beat Upson-Lee 40-39 in the season opener while the Trojans dismantled the Knights 48-3 in a pre-season scrimmage. Lamar tied Spalding 3-3 to open the season while Pike lost 25-13 to the Jaguars in their pre-season scrimmage. Last week: Lamar County beat Eagle’s Landing 41-30. Pike lost 24-0 to First Presbyterian in Macon. Series: Lamar County leads all-time 21-7 dating back to 1976 when the Trojans won 35-0 in Zebulon but the series has been more evenly matched recently as Lamar has won six of ten meetings including the last three. The Pirates last win was a 22-15 thriller in the final game played at Summers Field Memorial Stadium in 2008. Lamar won the only meeting at Trojan Field 20-17 two years ago. The Trojans won last year’s contest 19-0 in Zebulon. Pirate defense: 4-4 front yielding 31.5 points per game. (Lamar averages 22 ppg.) Pirate offense: Pistol formation scoring 20 points per game. (The Trojans are yielding 16.5 ppg.) Top players: #2 Artez Oglesby (Jr. RB/DB), #33 Tony Anthony (Sr. RB/DB), #34 Jess Devoursney Sr. TE/LB), #67 Matt Stone (Sr. OL/DL). Pirate coach: Brad Webber, 2nd year (6-6). Rankings: Lamar County is ranked 7th by the AP, 8th by MaxPreps, 10th by the AJC and 16th by Maxwell Ratings. Pike is ranked 32nd by MaxPreps and 36th by Maxwell. Prediction: Maxwell Ratings has the the Trojans a 12 point favorite. What you should know: It’s Blue Thunder Night and all fans are asked to wear blue. What Trojan Coach Franklin Stephens says: Pike is a good football team. They have a tremendous offense which is very balanced between the run and pass out of a variety of spread sets. I can’t stress enough about the play makers that do a tremendous job when they touch the ball. Defensively, they are a physical team that creates a lot of disruption with blitzes.
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