Calhoun's Cole Jackson (28) breaks into the open for a big Yellow Jacket gain against Ringgold.
Calhoun coach Hal Lamb will try to keep his Yellow Jackets riding high despite moving up to Georgia Region 6-AAA for 2014 season.CALHOUN, Ga. - Hal Lamb's football teams have always had one constant - they were more physical than nearly any team they met.
That wasn't the case the past couple of years for Calhoun, at least on the offensive side of the ball. As the Yellow Jackets have progressed from a wing-T team in Lamb's first few seasons to today's spread offense, the run game became more and more about finesse. It came to a head in last year's quarterfinal loss to Benedictine when the Jackets' offensive line was overpowered on a cold, blustery night.
It was then Lamb knew a better balance must be reached.
"I feel a lot better about our run game than the past couple of years," said Lamb of his 11-0, second-ranked Class AAA team. "That was really an emphasis last spring and summer. We felt like that was a big reason we didn't make it back to the (Georgia) Dome last year. Our offensive line is big and strong and they've played well all year, and we have three good backs who run hard all the time."
The balance Lamb wanted is evident in the team's statistics. Quarterback Kaelen Riley has thrown for nearly 1,700 yards, while backs Cole Jackson, Olico Dennis and Bryson Bushong have combined with the athletic Riley for right at 2,000 yards. Teams can no longer target one aspect of the Calhoun offense.
"You've got to be balanced at this time of year, and if you're not there are good defenses and good coordinators out there that can stop you if you're one dimensional," Lamb said. "We've done a good job of being able to better take what defenses are giving us."
For example, when North Murray played tight to stop the run Riley went for 350 yards, but when Adairsville decided to take away the short passing game the Jackets exploded for 318 yards on the ground against a top-10 team.
Just as important, according to Lamb, is the fact he can rotate any of his stable of backs and not lose production and that none of the three cares who gets the most carries.
"It wouldn't work if the three didn't work so well together," Lamb said. "Their attitude is great about sharing time, and the fact we can keep fresh legs in the game is important, especially this time of year."
Jackson, the starter who has a team-high 12 touchdowns, says he still remembers the feeling after the 35-14 loss to Benedictine.
"The way we played last year at Benedictine really motivated us a lot to get the run game going," he said. "That's not the way we want a season to end. We didn't really change much up with what we do. The main part of it was mentality of just wanting to be physical."
That run game will get tested Friday when a very large and physical Cedar Grove team comes to Phil Reeve Stadium with a defensive line that averages over 270 pounds per man. It's a team very similar to last year's Benedictine team.
"They're pretty big up front, but I think we can get the job done like we usually do," Jackson said. "Our line this year matches up with them. If we can get good yards on first down and convert in short-yardage situations we'll be fine. I also think our up-tempo offense will work on wearing them down. I really believe we'll be up for the challenge."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.