Armstrong ‘excited’ about return

Former Marianna Bulldogs coach Rob Armstrong will make his return to Bulldog Stadium Friday night to face his old team.

Armstrong’s Chipley Tigers (2-4, 0-1 in district play) will try to pull the upset in a game with major postseason implications.

The Tigers need to win to keep their postseason hopes alive. Marianna (4-3, 1-1 in district) can clinch a playoff spot with a win, and a Walton loss Friday night to Pensacola Catholic.

In two seasons from 2007-08, Armstrong coached the Bulldogs to 15 wins and a pair of playoff appearances, before taking the Chipley job early this summer.

The Tigers’ coach said he was looking forward to facing his old team.

“I’m excited about, and our players are excited about it,” Armstrong said before practice Wednesday. “We had two good days of practice (Monday and Tuesday), and we feel good about how familiar we are with what they’re doing in all three phases of the game.

“The other side of that is they should be familiar with what we’re doing, as well.”

First-year Bulldogs coach Steve DeWitt was Armstrong’s offensive coordinator before taking the head job after Armstrong’s departure.

The Bulldogs still employ the wing-T that Armstrong brought to Marianna two seasons ago. The former Marianna coach said he has been impressed with how the current coach has continued to make it an effective attack.

“Obviously, coach DeWitt did a great job for us the last two years and has done a great job this year,” Armstrong said. “Against Pensacola Catholic, the plan they had on offense was very good, and we couldn’t move it an inch on them last year.

“They’ve done a good job using their people and getting folks in different spots to cause people problems.”

Marianna lost to Pensacola Catholic 41-20 on Oct. 9, but the Bulldogs rebounded last week with an impressive 42-24 triumph over the previously undefeated Blountstown Tigers.

Watching the Blountstown tape, Armstrong said he saw a Bulldogs offense that would be very difficult for his team to defend.

“They’ve got so many weapons,” the coach said. “The first thing you’ve got to do is worry about the quarterback. Fidel (Montgomery) went right up and down the field against Blountstown. He’s a hard runner, he’ll break tackles, and he’s fast enough that you can’t catch him.

“The wingbacks with Tre Long, Tre Jackson and RJ Bowers, you’ve got three weapons right there. The last couple of games they started using Chris Bowers at fullback, who is a really good player. We’re going to have to guess with them, try to get there before they get going. If you get there after the snap, it’s too late.”

Armstrong said he has enjoyed watching film on Marianna to see some of the young players he coached performing well.

“Seeing some of those guys and how they play is a good thing,” the coach said. “I’m real proud of the year that a lot of those guys are having, especially having been with a bunch of them when they were freshmen and sophomores.

“That’s a little bit scary as well, when you know them and how good they are as well as I do. But it’s going to be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

Armstrong said he has seen a noticeable improvement from the Bulldogs since early in the season, but the same could be said for Chipley.

The Tigers started the season 0-3 before shutting out Cottondale 20-0, dropping a tough district game to Walton 24-14, then rebounding with a 14-13 win over Maclay.

Chipley was winless in 2008 and had lost 16 straight overall before the win over Cottondale.

However, Armstrong said he believes the team is headed in the right direction.

“We’ve gotten better every week, which is what we’re trying to do,” the coach said. “The defense has kept us in every game this year, we’ve just had a hard time putting points on the board.

“If the 20-yard line was the goal line, we’d have lots of points, but that hasn’t been the case.”

If the Tigers have any notion of an upset Friday night, they’ll need to find some offense in a hurry.

“We have to finish drives because we know (the Bulldogs) will get theirs.

“We’ve got another big challenge this week, but I’m pleased with the way we continue to get better and play hard. I hope we’ll get the same thing Friday night.”