By Devin Smith

Pike County, 3-0, travels to Dale County this week for a match-up of undefeated teams that could decide the region winner later this season.

“This game is very important, for both of us really,” said Pike County Bulldog head coach Fred Holland. “In the region it gives us an opportunity to be a frontrunner. That’s the key to winning your region, trying to get your spot so they don’t later down the road.”

The Warrior offense is currently averaging a staggering 44.6 points a game with dynamic playmakers such as Trey McMillian and Jamarius Henderson in the backfield.

Henderson, the defending 3A running back of the year, will be the focal point of the Warriors attack, and Holland said Henderson would not go unnoticed by the Bulldogs during the match up.

“We have got to limit his number of touches and try to keep the ball away from him if we can,” Holland said.

The Bulldog defense has proved to be more dominant so far this season. With just six points allowed for the season Pike County’s defense seems to be a frontrunner against the Warriors’ defense, who has allowed just over 15 points a game for Dale County. However, the offense is not nearly as dynamic and averages 19 points.

Although Holland said the Bulldogs had kept in mind the Warriors have a strong offense, that was not the only focus during practices leading up to the contest. “One thing about them is that they are very good at offense, they put up a lot of points,” Holland said. “But I feel like they are very good at all phases of the game, so it gives us a lot to work on.”

This game is expected to have a large impact on both teams, but as the showdown looms for the Bulldogs, Holland said he doesn’t want his team to put too much into just one specific game, regardless of the opponent.

“We don’t want to look too far ahead,” Holland said. “We try to take it game-by-game, and I think our focus has only been on Dale County and that’s very important for us.”

Kick off is 7 p.m. at Dale County.