by D. Mark Mitchell
OHS improved to 3-0 after beating Carver of Montgomery 56-28 last Thursday night in Cramton Bowl. Prior to this game Coach Brian Blackmon was concerned as the Dawgs were coming off an emotional win over AHS and had missed a day of preparation due to the Thursday night scheduled game.
Despite these concerns, Opelika is undefeated heading into their next game against Chilton County this week.
Weldrin Ford scored five touchdowns on runs of 8, 2, 4, 6 and 14 yards. Jaleel Heard caught a 64 yard pass from John David Worth for a score and Conner Smith ran 4 yards for a TD. Ques Jones scooped up a Carver fumble and ran it into the end zone for the final score of the game.
Austin Blackmon went 7 for 7 on PAT’s and Tyler Sellers kicked the last PAT. Blackmon missed a 44 yard field goal during the game.
Opelika moves their attention to Chilton County, the first Region opponent of the season, this Friday at 7 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium.
OPELIKA HOSTS CHILTON COUNTY (HOMECOMING)
Due to a unique home schedule OHS will celebrate Homecoming Friday night against CCHS. The Tigers are 1-3, beating Jemison 56-14 and losing to Sylacauga 28-20 and Helena 23-13 in a Region game.
Opelika leads the series 2-0. Last year, Chilton County took the opening drive 80 yards for a touchdown, missed the PAT and led 6-0. Opelika then reeled off 50 straight points to win 50-6. The Bulldogs beat CCHS, 66-20 in 2014. As you can see, this has been a one-sided rivalry so far.
Opelika is a top five 6A program with a huge fan base, good financial support, great coaching and skilled student/athletes that play hard each game. When we play teams like Chilton County, you can see the difference. I am not downgrading Chilton County, my parents are from Maplesville in Chilton County. Legendary former head coach John Hand is a personal friend, and so on; but facts are facts, like them or not!
The Dawgs should make this a happy homecoming for all Opelika alumni and fans although they really need to improve their play in all three phases of the game. I look for a blowout. Many players will see playing time as the Dawgs look forward to Benjamin Russell and Central in the coming weeks.
LISTEN LIVE TO OPELIKA GAMES ON 97.7 KICKER FM
Fans can listen to Opelika football on 97.7 KICKER FM (WKKR) and online at www.kickerfm.com, click listen live. You can also download the” i-Heart Radio” app on your smart phone free. Search WKKR and listen on your phone.
VOLLEYBALL
The OHS volleyball season is in full swing. The Lady Dawgs are 3-4 overall, including wins over Handley, Smiths Station and Calloway High School. They lost three times to Smiths Station and once to Hardaway.
Coach Robin Roberts’ team has two matches this week, Beauregard today, Wednesday( 9-7) , And Benjamin Russell ( 9-8). All home matches are played in the Main Street gym.
CROSS COUNTRY
Opelika girls and boys cross country teams opened the season at the AT&T Stars Mill Panther XC Meet in Fayetteville, Georgia, last Saturday morning. Opelika senior Ben Garner won the meet with a time of 15:57. Garner and fellow senior Braden Holloway are considered the top two runners for OHS.
The Bulldogs will host the annual Opelika Invitational at the Sportsplex Saturday morning.
Eight varsity teams will participate in the varsity meet while several middle schools will compete in their meet.
The Opelika Invitational starts at 8 a.m. at the Opelika Sportsplex. Admission is free and all Opelika fans are urged to attend. The meet will last 60 minutes.
D.Mark Mitchell is sports director for iHeart Media, Alabama Dixie Boys State director and vice president of the A-O Sports Council.