The Game Plan By Charles Prince

The North Jefferson News



The grey-haired man in the blue and gold Addison T-shirt walked slowly out of the stadium, with his grandson by his side.

Pain and frustration were evident on his face.

As he walked, he shook his head in disbelief. Finally, he muttered, “I don’t know what happened tonight. We’re usually one of the best teams in the state.”

The young boy thought hard, in hopes of consoling his grandfather, he asked, “maybe Fultondale is one of the best teams in the state, too?”

The pair had just seen their beloved Bulldogs, who own three state titles, with the most recent one coming in 2005, dominated for four quarters by Fultondale, to the tune of 32-18. Actually, that was deceptive final score, the game wasn’t really that close.

The Wildcats defense had stuffed the Bulldogs run all night. Only twice did Addison rush for a first down, and they only had only two runs over 10 yards, as they managed a mere 39 yards on 20 carries.

The pass defense had a couple of breakdowns against backs running wheel routes out of the backfield, so the Wildcats do have some work to do to play well against pass-happy teams. But their defense was only half the story on Thursday night.

The offense dominated from the opening drive, racking up nearly 600 yards of offense. Quite a feat in any game, but an astounding one, when you consider it came against a ranked opponent.

The offensive line performed like it was one of the best in the state, regardless of classification.

Time and again, the Wildcats offensive front gutted the Addison defense, opening gaping holes that let their backs get through untouched until they were running in the Bulldog’s secondary.

The Wildcats have plenty of experience and talent in three key areas—their front eight on defense, their offensive line and in the offensive backfield, which should prove to be a deadly combination for many Class 2A teams, this year.

Thursday night was more than just a big win for the Wildcats, it was a performance that placed them among the schools who can hold realistic dreams of making a deep run in the state playoffs and perhaps even reach Birmingham’s Legion Field for the Super Six.

The grandfather and the young boy walked on to his vehicle and the old man never did answer the young boy’s question. Actually, he didn’t have to, the scoreboard had said it all.