JOHNSTON – The Rebels find themselves in unfamiliar territory after losing to Columbia last week.  Thurmond is currently fourth place in the region, on a two game losing streak and needing a boost of confidence, immediately.

The ship has endured some blows recently, but the special thing about a ship made of Blue Steel is it can sustain adversity, yet right itself and rebound towards the destination.  After five consecutive quarters of sub-Thurmond football performance, the Rebels will look to get back on course Friday night. 

“We will see two teams that need a win, badly.  Both of us are behind the eight ball after losing our first games in region play.  It is important for us to come out of Friday night with a win.

Seems like the energy left the team after one of those long drives at Silver Bluff.  Defensively we lost our attitude and looked like we’ve been playing in second gear lately; too many players standing around and not getting to the ball with intensity. 

This is something we’ve worked on a lot in practice this week.  I think you’ll see a team that comes out and plays with the attitude of Strom Thurmond football, for the remainder of the season,” said Strom Thurmond coach Lee Sawyer.

Keenan opened the season with a big win over historical power Blackville Hilda, but has not found the win column since. 

“We backed ourselves in a corner for region play after losing to Eau Claire last week.  If we have any aspirations of post season play, our team must turn things around immediately.   Turning things around may be like climbing Mt Rushmore this week because Strom Thurmond is a good team. 

The quarterback (Yeldell) is very good and he is like having another coach on the field.  He makes sure everyone is in position on every play.   Their Offensive line gets off the ball and they have several great athletes on both sides of the field.  Hykeem Brooks looks as good as any defender in the state and he is just a sophomore.  The scary part is Thurmond’s roster is it is loaded with sophomores and juniors from top to bottom and they are good right now.  

I knew coming into the season that we would have our challenges after graduating 18 starters from last season’s team, but my guys continue to play hard and improve each week.   We don’t make excuses and will be ready to play Friday night.

This game is sort of a homecoming for me, since I grew up in McCormick and had a lot of family members to graduate from Thurmond.  I look forward to coming back to the area and hopefully having a good showing in front of my family and friends. 

 I told my team to be prepared for a hostile environment because the town of Edgefield shuts down when Strom Thurmond plays football.”  Said Keenan coach Mitchell Moton. 

Keys to Victory:
“Eliminate turnovers and execution. We must also limit our penalties.  When playing a good team, you cannot expect to win if you have penalties and turn the ball over.  Our goal is zero mistakes in this game.” Coach Mitchell Moton.

“Eliminate mistakes on offense.  Last week we didn’t fumble but threw interceptions and we didn’t have many penalties but the ones we had were critical.  Offensively we must sustain drives then finish them off with a score.”  Coach Lee Sawyer. 

By the Numbers:
Offensively:  ST 24 ppg  Ken 8 ppg
Defensively: ST 10 ppg  Ken 26 ppg 

Last Game:
Thurmond 13 Columbia 18
Keenan 6 Eau Claire 35
 
All Time Series:
ST leads18-4.

Previous Meeting:
ST 34 Ken 19 in 2003.

Grilled hamburgers, chips and cold drinks will be available in the back parking lot starting at 6:30pm.  Bring a chair, have some food and enjoy the tailgating before kickoff.  All proceeds support Strom Thurmond Athletics.

This is also Strom Thurmond’s Homecoming game.