Timothy L. Hale
CHSR Editor & Publisher

One win down, four to go.

After last Saturday’s road win against Mundy’s Mill, the road warriors of Chapel Hill load the buses again this Friday for another key Region 4-AAAAA match-up with the always tough East Coweta Indians.

No doubt, the Indian seniors will remember last year’s stinging 13-7 loss to the Panthers. After some offensive miscues, the Chapel Hill defense held the Indians to just seven points in the first half then rolled off 13 unanswered points in the second for the win – a win which would prove crucial to post-season seeding for the state play-offs.

When the two met last year, the Indians were undefeated and Chapel Hill was sitting on their only loss to Newnan.

This year, the Panthers and the Indians are both staring at 4-2, 3-2 going into Friday’s game.

East Coweta has lost to both Creekside (13-9) and Westlake (34-27) this year. Other than Chapel Hill and Newnan, their remaining games against Morrow and Riverdale are pretty much in the bag before kicking off.

With Creekside and Westlake remaining on the Panthers’ schedule, there is not much wiggle room when it comes to dealing with the Indians.

The Indians are averaging 27.5 ppg (165 total points) compared with the Panthers 30.5 (180 total points).

On defense, East Coweta is allowing 15 ppg (90 total points) while Chapel Hill has given up 18.3 ppg (110 total points – the anomaly being 41 points spotted to Newnan).

Can the Panther defense keep the Indian offense in check? Will the Panther offense be able to open up their game against their defense?

On paper, both teams seem to be pretty evenly matched. However, the true test will come as it always does on Friday night – between the goalposts.

Kick-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Garland Shoemake Memorial Stadium in Sharpsburg. Load up the vans, cars and trucks and caravan on over. The Panthers need a strong fan base to come out and support them as they continue “The Drive for Five”!