JOHNSTON – The Strom Thurmond Rebels will take their (1-1) record to North Augusta (2-0) for the CSRA game of the week on Friday.    

This season the Jackets are one of the teams to beat in the CSRA and in 4-A South Carolina.  Five players from the Jacket’s roster have already received offers to play at the next level.  North Augusta has a high scoring offense that has scored at will on the ground and through the air thus far this season.  

North Augusta head coach Dan Pippen has a record of 5-2 versus Strom Thurmond and is 3-2 versus Lee Sawyer, head to head in his coaching career. Pippen placed the only regular season blemishes on Strom Thurmond’s records in 2004 and 2005, while he was a head coach at South Aiken. Strom went 24-3 during that run and two of the losses came at the hands of Pippen’s T-Breds.  

North Augusta leads the all time series 17-8, pulling off seven straight victories from 1997-2003.  
Strom Thurmond has won four of the previous five games in the series. Lee Sawyer is 4-1 versus North Augusta as a head coach. The Rebels enter this game after a bye week. Having an off week is one of the few advantages to playing a week zero game.  

“As much as I don’t like playing early, this season it worked out pretty good because the team was hit with the flu virus last week. It’s a good thing we didn’t have a game last Friday.” Said Coach Sawyer.

Over the past few seasons, all the pressure has been on Strom Thurmond in the big games.  The Rebels usually come into Friday nights as the favorite, but this week things are reversed. The pressure is on highly-touted North Augusta to come through on one of the biggest pre-region games for both teams. Winning will not be an easy task for either team.    

Coaches Corner:

“We are very excited about playing Strom Thurmond, as always. They have great program and this is a big game for us. Thurmond has a great team again this year. The keys to victory for us will be ball control and playing good defense. This will be a great game to watch, especially for all of the fans.” – NA head coach Dan Pippen.

“North Augusta has a great football team this year. All the talk about them is not hype, it is very accurate. They have so many weapons, it is unbelievable. Their running back (Demarkus Rouse) could be as good if not better than Tidy Johnson (NA’s standout from last season). They can run it and throw it very well, which makes them hard to defend. We will have to defend the entire field at all times. Keys to victory will be our young guys stepping up and handling the pressure of a hostile environment, moving the chains on offense, winning field position battles and not giving up the big plays on defense.” – Thurmond head coach Lee Sawyer.    

Matchup:  North Augusta’s potent offense which averages 464 yards and 42 points per game vs Strom Thurmond’s Blue Steel defense (has only given up 14 total points, in two games, defensively).  

By the Numbers:
Offensively:  NA 42 ppg ST 35 ppg
Defensively:  NA 14 ppg ST 14 ppg

Last Week:
North Augusta 42 South Aiken 14  
Thurmond was idle

Previous Meeting:
ST 21 NA 7 September 12th 2008

Players to Watch:
NA: Loranzo Hammonds (QB) avg 9 yards per carry, 3 rushing TD’s, passing 24-36-335 yards, Matt Hazel (WR) 16 receptions 268 yards 3 TD’s , Cam Alston (WR/DB) 1 interception, 1 sack, L.J. Perry (LB) 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery multiple tackles , Montel Hughes (LB) 2 sacks 15 tackles, Demarkus Rouse (RB) 39 rushes for 247 yards

ST: Raleigh Yeldell (QB) avg 6.6 yards per carry with 4 rushing TD’s, passing 20-34-153 yds 0 Int’s 0 TD’s, Nick Williamson (RB) avg 6.1 yards per carry with 3 rushing TD’s, Chris Blocker (RB) avg 3.1 yards per carry, Nick Clark (LB) 19 tackles, 1 interception, Demarkus Smith (WR) avg  9.3 yards per catch, Marcellis Thompson (LB) 2 sacks, 1 interception

Injuries:
Both teams come in healthy.

Don’t like waiting in long lines for a ticket? Save one dollar off the regular admission price and avoid long lines. Tickets will be on sale at the North Augusta High School Auditorium on Thursday and Friday from 10am thru 2pm, for only $5.  Regular price is $6, at the gate.  

Kickoff is 7:30 at North Augusta.