This has

not been the best season for the McIntosh Chiefs and the

Fayette County Tigers.

Both teams

have dealt with injuries and every other form of

adversity that can be thrown a high school football

team's way, and the season has felt extra long because of

it. All of the bad feeling can go away this Friday,

though, for the one team that walks away from the

long-standing rivalry between the two schools.

The Tigers

hold the advantage in the overall record between the two

teams, but in this matchup anything can happen.

Last week

saw both teams lose by large margins to their opponents.

McIntosh fell to Newnan 35-7, while Fayette County took a

pounding in Griffin, losing 42-0. McIntosh was close to

the Cougars at the half, trailing 14-7. Luke Wiggs

connected with Travis Van Winkle for a touchdown, as the

Chiefs held Newnan to only 54 yards passing on the night.

Newnan took over in the third and built a 28-7 lead with

five minutes remaining in the third quarter. McIntosh

played a strong game and did not throw in the towel.

The Tigers

on the other hand played perhaps their worst game of the

season Friday. They had -1 yards of offense in the first

half and had two field goals blocked in the loss. The two

teams have shown flashes of brilliance during the season,

but they never gelled long enough to secure more wins.

Hence, this could be the most even match between the

Chiefs and the Tigers in years.

Fayette

County still relies heavily on Wes Clark, who is capable

of having a big game on any given night. Quarterback

Nathaniel Enloe has found his targets, namely Trevor

Bowman, for a number of huge plays and touchdowns, but he

has also thrown interceptions that have occurred at the

worst possible moment.

The Tiger

defense is still pretty big and capable of controlling

the pace of a game.

McIntosh

has had some trouble putting up points lately, but blame

that on the high caliber of opponents they have played in

recent weeks. Their one win came in dramatic fashion

against Stockbridge, proving that if they can keep it

close, this is a team capable of winning. Jim O'Shea, who

took over quarterback duties for a few weeks when Luke

Wiggs was injured, is back running while Wiggs is seeing

the most time at quarterback. Tony Franks and Rico

Blackman have shown some skill at wide receiver, but

McIntosh's main concern will be defense.

The game

will be played at Tiger Stadium Friday at 7:30 p.m. It is

always exciting when these two schools battle, be it

football or physics. Get there early, dress warm and

support your local team.