The #3 Davidson Warriors face the #2 Daphne Trojans in a AHSAA Semifinal matchup at Jubilee Stadium. Daphne defeated Wetumpka 37-0 while Davidson defeated Stanhope Elmore 31-24 last week in second round games. Both teams have been ranked in the Alabama6AFootball.com Top 10 Poll this season and this looks to be a great matchup from two programs.
Due to the familiarity between the two schools, this game would be a great backyard football game that could take place in a vacant yard somewhere in Mobile. "As coaches we just talked about it today that this game is like one of the old Rocky movies with two rivals and friends go against each other," said Warriors Head coach Fred Riley. "We know that we can't change our plan for this one game and we must have tremendous balance on offense."
The balance that Davidson (12-1) looks for is with quarterback Kendyll Williamson. Along with Williamson, running back Terrance Timmons is key in the Warriors offense that averages 35.2 points per game. The senior running back has 201 carries for 1,963 yards and 24 touchdowns this season. Last week, Timmons ripped through Stanhope Elmore's defense for 302 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries ? including four runs of 40 yards or more in the second half. Williamson has completed 98-of-173 passing for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns with 1,004 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Williamson has been key in the last two playoff wins needing big plays to keep drives alive and scoring on late drives in these games. "Kendyll has made great decisions and gets overshadowed because of the explosive running of Terrance," added Riley. "This team is the best offense that we have ever had because of Kendyll being able to throw the football and three receivers that can catch it. We have skill plays that can run the ball, but we can throw and catch it. Our best teams was the 2005 team and we could just mal opponents but we are so much more balanced this season."
On defense, the Warriors returned three top players on the front line but had to add eight new ones behind the front three. The front line consists of Jabrian Niles (Auburn commitment), Denzell Perine, and Alphonse Taylor who lead the way for the Warriors. The defense gives up 18.1 points per game and needs to play a great game to stay with the Daphne defense. "We have our front three back from a year ago," said Riley. "We knew early off that the offense and special teams would have to step up. Our secondary is not as football savvy as in the past years but we think we have things corrected at the safety position. We play a better zone defense in the secondary and we pick our times when we need to blitz. We have evolved on defense but this is not last years defense."
On special teams, kicker Josh Bowen has been an all-state performer. The senior kicker has been exceptional for the season hitting on all 56-of-56 extra points with 11-of-13 field goals this season. Bowen has kicked two 42-yard and two 40-yard field goals. "He is an all-state kicker," said Riley. "He has done everything that we have asked him to kick this season. On kickoffs, we can tell him to kick it to this player and it is done."
The Daphne Trojans (13-0) played lights out last week when hosting Wetumpka. The defense shut out one of the best quarterbacks in the state and the offense had 318 total yards.
The Daphne defense looks to shut down the run game of Davidson and make them one dimensional like they did Wetumpka last week. The Wetumpka QB Jamal Golden had only 20 yards on 19 carries. Defensive lineman Ryan Anderson and Eric Lee with linebacker Michael Pierce make the Daphne defense one of the best in the state. The Trojans defense only give up 9.5 points per game.
On offense, Tyrell Holloway and T.J. Yeldon are the main weapons for the Trojans. Last week, Holloway had 187 yards and two touchdowns and Yeldon had 184 yards and two touchdowns. Israel Lamprakes is another weapon that can catch it or run it. Quarterback Russ Mosley has been doing a great job and not turning the ball over on offense.
Daphne and Davidson have met 13 times on the field. Daphne holds a 7-6 edge in the games played. The Trojans have made 15 playoff appearances with an overall record of 30-13.... They are 2-0 at home in the semi-finals all-time. The last time these two teams met was last season during week #1 when Davidson won 21-14.
Game time is 7:00 p.m.
