When two Montgomery teams get together in the Cramton Bowl, it creates a lot of excitement between the two schools and there should be plenty of that between Lee-Montgomery and Park Crossing Thursday night. #2 Park Crossing (Class 6A) has one of the best quarterbacks in the state and #10 Lee-Montgomery (Class 7A) has one of the best receivers in the state.
For Lee on offense, senior Henry Ruggs III is a 4-star wide receiver and is being recruited by Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State and Penn State. Ruggs has all the tools for the next level. "He has great character and a young man that you can count on doing the right thing," said Generals Head coach Tyrone Rodgers. "He has great work ethic and a special athlete. It's a good combination when you put all those things together to make a great player." Ruggs caught a touchdown pass in his first game of the year last week against Sidney Lanier.
The quarterback position has not one, but two seniors to lead the Generals this season. Quarterback D.J. Patterson came off the bench in the second half last week and starter Mike Huntley did a great job in the first half. "I told those guys that they are going to be the one and one punch," added Rodgers. "These are two pretty good athletes that need to get on the football field. It has been two tight competition and really not any separation between the two."
On the offensive lineman Cameron Hill leads the way. "Cameron has done an awesome job on the offensive line for us," Rodgers said. "He is a three-year starter for us leading the way for our line." The junior tackle is listed at 6-foot-2, 285-pounds. The Generals have three, 3-year starters on the line that brings a lot of experience to that position. The offense is going to be the strong point of the 2016 season. Last week, the Generals made some big plays on offense but look to put some drives together to keep the young defense off the field.
The defense gave up three scores last week and the secondary will need a good performance against the Park Crossing passing game. The Generals return six starters off the defensive side of the ball. "We have to eliminate the mental mistakes, sound football and tackle better," added Rodgers. "In football your going to make some mistakes but if you can fly around to the ball you can cover those mistakes."
Two of the leaders on defense are the two cornerbacks that could play an important part of this game. DB's Jakorey Hawkins and Edward Johnson are two of the best DB combination in the state. Both are two-year starters and have good size at that position.
Coach Rodgers said that special teams was not very good last week and that it needs to greatly improve this week against a good team.
For Park Crossing on offense, the Thunderbirds have Malik Cunningham. The Louisville commitment is very talented and can make any play on the field and had a big win over Jeff Davis last week. "Early in the game, Malik was trying to do a little to much just because of the hype of the game," said Thunderbirds Head coach Smitty Grider. "He settled down very well after that and played really, really well. The whole offensive team feeds off of him and he did a great job on the sideline with his demeanor. His leadership is a big part of his game right now."
Last week, Cunningham finished 14-of-22 passing for 179 yards and a touchdown with an interception with 94 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns. The senior QB had 20 carries and looks to cut that number down in future games.
Cunningham has weapons and one is receiver Josh Knight. "Josh has great hands, runs very good routes and is where he is supposed to be," added Grider. "When the ball is near him, he is going to make the catch. He is making the most of his opportunities." Knight can turn a short pass into a long score if you give him much room. Doron Mitchell and Jackson Tate gives Cunningham a lot of options in the passing game. Last week, Tate made a great catch on a fade ball with two defenders all over him which converted a big first down late in the game.
Myron Fulford and Miles Broadnax lead the Thunderbirds ground game. Fulford has a slight AC separation in his shoulder so the bulk of the work Thursday night will go to Broadnax. Broadnax will have to pick up a few more carries until Fulford comes back. One lineman that is going to be a star for the Thunderbirds is Tank Jenkins. The junior offensive tackle is 6-foot-4, 315 pounds and is getting better every game.
On defense, the secondary gave up over 284 yards in the air last week but look to improve this week against Ruggs. Over the summer in the 7-on-7 at Hoover, Grider said that they secondary mad great improvements over the summer and received some good competition during the tournament. Safety Jalen Patterson played well last week and will try to keep the Generals passing game from getting the deep ball. The other safety Kam Green played well last week and will play an important part in the Thurderbirds passing defense. Outside linebacker Cameron Bright, a Pittsburgh verbal commit, had two sacks last week and looks to put pressure on the Lee quarterback.
Both coaches know how big this game is to their fan bases, but knows that the team that keep their composure could play a big part on winning this big Thursday night game.
