The past two weeks haven’t ended like the Grenada High School Chargers football team would have liked them to have ended.
Losses by a combined nine points have coach Michael Fair’s team out of contention for a first-round home playoff game. Still, the third-year leader likes where his team is as it closes in on the postseason.
“I know in many ways our record doesn’t show it, but we are peaking at the right time,” Fair said. “The outcome is not where we want it to be, but we are playing better, and we are a better football team than we were earlier in the season. The competition has stepped up. I told our team this week I don’t know that without the adversity we are going through, if we would push as hard as we have been pushing to put our best product on the field. If we would have won two close games these past two weeks, human nature lends you to think we are doing enough to get through this thing. I’m not sure we would have pushed as hard and made the changes we made. Our players have responded well to the adversity – we have been through it and will be better for it.”
In the middle of a two-game losing streak, Fair feels like his team needs to get off to good start Thursday night as they visit Saltillo.
“If you look at the games we have won, we were the aggressor,” he said. “We came out of the gate strong – the last two weeks we were in 7-0 and 14-0 holes before we could turn around. A lot of it was our wrongdoings.”
It has been a short week of preparation with game being played on Thursday due to a mandate by the Mississippi High School Activities Association.
“It’s been tougher on the coaches than the players,” Fair said. “We’ve been working hard as a staff to get the plan ready. It’s amazing to see the coaching staff and how hard they work, along with the sacrifices they make for this program.”
The Chargers face a Saltillo Tigers team that is much better than their 3-7 record shows, according to Fair.
“They definitely have quality players,” he said. “It is the most talented Saltillo team that I have seen in the 10 years that I have played them. It’s the most talented roster they have had. Offensively, they have guys that can score. They have good receivers and a quarterback that can push the ball down the field. Opposing teams have had problems tackling their tailback. Defensively, they run to the football well. We are going to have our hands full.”
Senior quarterback Brayden Trusty is 110-of-176 for 1,713 yards and 20 touchdowns to go with only one interception.
“Brayden has been a big part of our ability to be balanced on offense,” Fair said. “He has had a great year – we have put a lot on him, and he has responded well. Several of his touchdown passes this season have been on run-pass option reads. He gets the ball out and to people in space.”
Trusty’s favorite receiver has been classmate Zayion Cotton, who has 46 catches for 896 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. The Mississippi State commit has seen his game peak this season.
“Zayion has taken his game to another level this season,” Fair said. “He has taken the top off opposing defenses and makes us a better football team. He is attacking the football at its high point. Zayion is just a better player than he was two years ago.”
On the ground, junior Malik Taylor leads the way with 112 carries from 758 yards and nine touchdowns.
Defensively, senior Jereon Reed leads the way with 94 tackles – 11 of those for losses. Classmates Brayden Hardiman and Eli Palmer have 44 and 41 tackles, respectively.
Other than winning, Fair has some goals for his team during Thursday’s game.
“We need to play our brand of football, and we need to put it together for an entire game,” he said. “That’s what we have not seen the last couple of weeks. We show glimpses of being really good in all three phases. We are close to where we want to be at this time of year. For whatever reason, we haven’t put four quarters together. It’s a matter of execution – it’s a matter of getting the job done when your number is called.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
