A step above the rest

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, September 8, 2010

With the football season already well on its way, I think now is a good time to take a look at what we have going on in front of us.

In the county, we have football programs that are designed to make each of the players successful, both on and off the field.

We have teams that have won region titles and state championships and players who have left the high school ranks to be a part of the collegiate level.

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Quite simply put, we have a couple of pretty good teams on our hands.

Yes, it is very early in the seasons.

But each team, both high school and college a like, started their seasons off with a win – something which is not always an easy accomplishment.

And while two of those team’s quest for a perfect season may have fallen short in the second week, both Charles Henderson and Goshen put up a good fight.

Which really shows the level of football that is demanded here.

If an opposing team is going to win, they have to give it everything thing they got, or else.

Yes, football is an already tough and demanding sport.

But I have seen a lot of teams give up when faced with a 21-point deficit.

Charles Henderson did just the opposite against Tallassee, and I believe that Goshen, Pike Liberal Arts and Pike County all would have fought back the same way.

That is one of the key ingredients for a winning program.

The same goes for Troy.

During much of its game against Bowling Green, the visiting team looked better.

Chalk it up to inexperience across the field, nerves or even pure talent, but in the end, the team that wanted it more, got it.

There may be some people that say Tony Davis’ interception in the fourth quarter was “luck.”

I, like he and the rest of his coaches, know it was not luck that put the ball in his hands, but hustle and a willingness to do whatever is necessary to get a ‘W’.

Stuff like that can take a team a long ways, no matter what level of competition it may be on.

And that’s the one thing I have been able to take away from a football game while I have been down here.

With much of the season yet to be played, records will change for both for better and for worse.

Teams in the county will make the postseason, and some will not.

But regardless of the final outcome, there is one given.

Pike County football teams are going to play hard, and the fans in the stand will always be proud.

Greg Rossino is the Sports Editor for The Messenger, and he can be reached at greg.rossino@troymessenger.com or on Twitter at Messenger_greg.