JF could give Amherst best test yet

Amherst coach Cecil Phillips got a first-hand glimpse at Jefferson Forest junior running back Rashad Hall’s speed last spring, during a football combine held at Lancer Stadium.

Out of 80 participants from 20 schools in the combine, which tested players’ speed, power and quickness, Hall clocked the two fastest 40-yard dash times.

“On our turf, he ran a 4.36- and a 4.39-(second) 40,” Phillips said. “He’s fast. If he’s given a crease, he obviously has the potential to take the ball the distance.”

Hall has been a workhorse for the Cavaliers, carrying the ball 204 times for 1,201 yards and nine touchdowns, ranking him second in the area in rushing behind Staunton River junior Meech Coles (208 carries, 1,283 yards, 13 TDs).

“Compared to last year’s football team, they’re running more out of a one-back set,” Phillips said. “They’ve opened the offense quite a bit and I believe they have a better balance in being able to throw the ball and run the ball.”

But few teams in the state have better balance or speed in the backfield than the Lancers, who had 11 of their 13 participants clock 40 times of 4.7 seconds or faster last spring, with more than half in the 4.4 to 4.5 range.

“We have a variety of kids who have the opportunity to bust a big play for us,” Phillips said.

Stat-wise, they haven’t accumulated huge numbers — Jamal Glover leads the team with 720 yards rushing — but they maximize their opportunities, averaging more than 10 yards per carry. Five Amherst players have scored four or more touchdowns on the ground.

“Our kids don’t have a tremendous amount of carries, which allows them to keep legs fresh,” Phillips said. “They stay mentally in the game, visualize it and see how defense is lined up. We ask them to get mental reps.”

He expects the Cavaliers (5-3, 3-1 Seminole) to give the Lancers (8-0, 4-0) one of their toughest challenges of the season on both sides of the ball. Amherst comes into the contest averaging nearly 50 points per game while giving up fewer than 10 (394-78).

“They have one of the most physical defenses our kids have played in a while and one of the more explosive offenses we’ve faced in a while also, so it’s going to be a big test for us,” Phillips said. “JF has always played very hard-nosed, physical football on the defensive side (and) they’re going to give us a variety of looks up front.”

The Cavaliers may have a slight motivational edge, with a loss to the Division 4 power likely ending any hopes of a second straight Region III, Division 4, playoff berth — and second in 10 years.

“We put ourselves in a bad situation as far as losing to (Turner Ashby), a game we should have won, losing to Liberty, a game we should have won,” JF coach Don Rice said. “We should be sitting with one loss right now to Northside. They beat us the first game. Now, we’re sitting at 5-3, we’ve got two games left — (they conclude the regular season at home against Brookville) — and we’ve just got to play.”

He knows Forest is facing a daunting task on Amherst’s home turf, which only increases their speed. But he’s not counting the Cavaliers out, though they likely will have to play their best game of the year and hope for a lapse by the Lancers.

“We’ve got Amherst, one of the best teams in the state, but every dog has his day,” Rice said. “I’m not talking any smack, understand. Everybody has its day. Everybody plays great football, everybody has its bad day. We know they’re good, but we’re a good football team and we’re just going to play football.”

A Forest victory would help even the balance of power in the Seminole, which features plenty of parity beyond the Lancers.

“The great thing about the Seminole District is right now, there’s no gimmee week, with (E.C.) Glass coming in,” Rice said after the Cavaliers rallied for a 29-26 victory over Heritage last Friday on two fourth-quarter touchdowns by sophomore Marcus Jones, the first on a 32-yard, fourth-and-9 touchdown pass from senior quarterback Hunter Hannell. “It’s fun to do this. I’m a nervous wreck sometimes on the sidelines, but this is fun.”

Phillips anticipates a playoff-like atmosphere for tonight’s contest and expects the Lancers to feed off of the energy generated by their fans.

“We expect them to come in here obviously fired up because they do have a playoff spot on the line,” he said. “We expect to get a tremendous effort from their football team and we’ve got to be able to match that intensity right off the bat.”

Though it already has clinched a Region III, Division 4, playoff berth, Amherst, too, has plenty of incentive, including a Seminole District championship.

“We didn’t accomplish that last year,” Phillips said, who lost his debut with the Lancers to Brookville, which went undefeated in the regular season. “We have to win our last two ballgames to win the district championship outright so we have a lot to play for as well.”

After starting this season with a bye week, the Lancers have gotten into a comfortable routine.

“We’re basically going to play 10 straight (games before the playoffs),” Phillips said. “It’s allowed us to stay in a groove and we look to go out and continue to play hard every Friday night.”

He said nothing changes from week to week with regards to the Lancers’ goals and objectives.

“If we’re going to achieve the things we set out to achieve, we’ve got to take care of ourselves first,” Phillips said. “We need to polish up fundamentals (and) eliminate foolish penalties and costly turnovers.”