The White County Warriors are looking to show resiliency in the face of adversity as they prepare to take on the Cannon County Lions.
The Warriors (2-3) will be playing their first game without sensational sophomore quarterback Malaki Dowell, who is out for the season with a knee injury. Freshman Owen Adams will take over the starting role.
“Owen Adams is our quarterback,” said WCHS head coach Mark Frasier. “He’s not your usual freshman. He’s going to be a very good player in his own right. We’re sorry it had to come about this early. He’s a tough kid. He’s a gamer. I really have high hopes for him. We’ve just got to rally around him with the rest of the team.”
The Lions and Warriors were originally scheduled to play in week one of the season but was cancelled. After the Lions original week seven opponent, Grundy County, cancelled their matchup, the CCHS and WCHS coaching staffs decided to play Friday.
Cannon County (0-6, 0-2) has struggled in the 2020 season. They have been outscored by opponents 258-33 in six games. Frasier said the Lions run a wing-T offense which can create challenges.
“They’re a wing-T,” said Frasier. “They’re a well-coached team. From what I’ve heard they’ve had some injuries here and there. They appear to be getting better there at quarterback. Defensively, they run to the football. They’ve just run into some good football teams. They played Walker Valley and lost 39-0. Walker Valley beat us by about the same point total. We’re going to go out there and play hard and then hopefully things will work out. I still think we can move the football and be successful on that side”
Frasier said his offense has responded, knowing they will have to pick up the slack left in the wake of losing Dowell.
“The response has been great,” said Frasier. “More than just as a good football player, everybody loves Malaki. He’s a good kid. They’re going to miss him, but I feel like we’ve had a great response. The offensive line knows they’ve got to be a little bit sharper. We lost about 20 carries and 200-300 yards of offense a game, so we’ve got to have some guys pick it up. I’ve been proud of them.”
Defensively, the Warriors put together a strong performance in the team’s 54-13 win over York. The starting defense did not surrender a point in the matchup. Frasier said his defense knows they have to continue to get better, especially with the lack of their big-play threat on offense.
“Malaki didn’t play a lot of defense for us,” said Frasier. “Coming down this home stretch… we’ve got to be very solid on defense. We can’t have mental breakdowns. We’ve got to pick the consistency up a notch. The only way we’re going to be competitive in these last (five) games is for that to happen. The response has been great.”
Kickoff between the Lions and Warriors is set for o7 p.m. Friday night in Woodbury.