Sports
South Gallia Not Backing Down Against Powerhouse Danville
By: Kelsi Steele
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Postseason play is a feeling to which the No. 8 South Gallia Rebels (6-4, 5-3) are still warming up. Friday’s playoff opener will mark South Gallia’s fourth-ever venture into postseason play.
As for its opponent, the playoff feeling is all too familiar.
No. 1 Danville (10-0, 2-0) will make its fifth consecutive trip to the postseason and 16th appearance overall. In 2004, the Blue Devils reached the state final four round.
On paper, it will be a battle of David vs. Goliath, but David is not backing down.
“If you’re going to make it in, might as well play your best,” South Gallia head coach Jason Peck said. “Our hands are full, but it’s better than empty. We are going to go out there and attack it,”
The two teams have met in the postseason play once before during the 2006 D-VI, region 23 quarterfinals. It was all Danville that evening with the Blue Devils flying past South Gallia 51-20.
Today, Danville’s football legacy is as strong as ever and the statistics are mind-boggling. The Blue Devils are piling up 52.6 points per contest while holding opponents to just 4.7 points per game. As a matter of fact, only three teams have scored on Danville this season.
But for South Gallia, the number game isn’t enough.
“We aren’t a bit scared and that’s an accomplishment in itself,” Peck said. “Our kids aren’t going to back down from anyone,”
South Gallia boasts some firepower of its own, principally in the trio of Isaiah Geiger, Landon Hutchinson, and Kane Hutchinson. Those three have posted some eye-popping numbers off of home run plays, but Peck acknowledged beating Danville will require to chip away slowly, rather than pick up everything at once.
“Really its’ going to be 3-4 yard runs instead of 50 and 70 yard runs,” Peck said. “Just because you are playing a good team, you still have to stay physical and push it. I think we have the ability to do that,”
If one thing is for certain, South Gallia is not going down without a fight.
“We’ve been the number 8-9 seed the last few years, we’ve been on the door knocking,” Peck noted. “It’d be huge to go in there and beat the number one team.”
South Gallia and Danville meet in the D-VII Region 25 Quarterfinal on Friday in Danville. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.