By Staff
Scot Beard
RED BAY – With a 3-0 record in region play and its playoff destiny in its own hands the Red Bay football team is leaving the state for a game against Belmont, Miss. tonight.
Although the two teams did not play last year, the squads are familiar with each other because the two schools are only about seven miles apart.
"Belmont is a lot like we are," said Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys. "This might be the best team I've seen them have in my 12 years here."
Jeffreys said Belmont runs the wing-T and is very efficient offensively. He also said both the offensive and defensive linemen are big and the team is solid in all aspects of the game.
Jeffreys is expecting a battle and said there are still several areas where his team needs to show improvement.
"I don't think we've gone a full game without making mistakes," Jeffreys said. "We've got room to improve in every area."
In Red Bay's last two games the Tigers have allowed opponents to hang around in the first half before pulling away down the stretch to secure victories.
Jeffreys said the defense has blown its coverage several times during those games, allowing other teams to put points on the scoreboard.
He said the offense has also had its problems. The Tigers have been able to run the ball very well during the past couple of weeks, but the team's passing attack has been too inconsistent to be considered successful.
For Red Bay to pull out a victory this week, they will need to be firing on all cylinders to keep up with the larger players Belmont will put on the field.
"They are a lot bigger and really physical," Jeffreys said.