PEDRO – Even though the Oak Hill Oaks lost most of their team to graduation, Rock Hill Redmen coach Andy Hall doesn’t see much of a difference between last season and this week’s game at Rock Hill.

Thursday, September 07, 2000

PEDRO – Even though the Oak Hill Oaks lost most of their team to graduation, Rock Hill Redmen coach Andy Hall doesn’t see much of a difference between last season and this week’s game at Rock Hill.

"They’ve lost some of their firepower. They had running backs who started three years and their quarterback could throw it and was a leader," Hall said.

"But even though they are young, they’re aggressive and they still come right at you. (Quarterback Tommy Triplett) does good job running the team. They come off the ball and hit you. It’s typical Merril Triplett football."

Both teams come into the game 1-1 and fresh from victories. Rock Hill blanked Vinton County 12-0 and Oak Hill shutout Unioto 38-0.

But last season, Oak Hill turned a couple of early fumbles into touchdowns en route to a 40-8 win last season. Hall knows the Redmen offense must generate some points in order to win.

"Defensively, they’re going to blitz you and stop your running game. We need to be more versatile. He’s going to force us to open things up and attack from the perimeter. Our kids have to respond," Hall said.

"Scott (Turley) and Johnny (Webb) can’t carry the full load, so it’s important that we’re more versatile in the things we try to accomplish."

If Oak Hill looks similar to Hall, Oaks coach Merril Triplett has the same kind of feelings about the Redmen with one exception: The Redmen won’t get blown out this time.

"They look like last year’s team. A carbon copy. But last year we just jumped on them and the game just snowballed. Turley’s a real nice back and Webb compliments him well, and their quarterback (Gabe Medinger) throws the ball real well," Triplett said.

Hall said the Oaks look like last year’s team up front on both sides of the ball. If they play the same way, Hall said the Redmen could be in for a long night.

"We match up pretty well. Both teams are big and physical up front. Both their backs run hard and so do ours. The last three years they’ve whipped us pretty good. Hopefully, our kids remember last year and will play with more intensity," Triplett said.

Oak Hill has won the last three meetings in the series. Hall thinks it’s time for the Redmen to reverse the series trend.

"We’re at home and we need to play as hard as we can. It’s a rivalry. The communities are close, and Merril has a lot of family in our area. They were one of our three losses last year and we want to play better than we did last year," Hall said.

Triplett isn’t sure what to expect from his team that is dotted with young players.

"We start seven sophomores and a freshman. This is the youngest team I’ve ever had," Triplett said.