GHS hopes to salvage season

The 2009 season hasn’t been what the Graceville Tigers had hoped for at the start of the year.

Although a fifth straight trip to the playoffs is no longer in play, the Tigers can salvage what’s left of their season with a pair of victories in their most-heated
rivalries.

Graceville (2-6) will host the Cottondale Hornets (1-6) tonight at 7 p.m., then finish the season Nov. 13 on the road against Chipley.

Unfortunately for both Graceville and Cottondale, FAMU and Jefferson County have already wrapped up the top two playoff spots in the district.

However, the Hornets and Tigers rarely need extra motivation for this game.

“We’re still getting after it, still practicing pretty good,” Graceville coach Todd Wertenberger said Thursday. “We’re excited to go play. It’s such a big rivalry game, I hope it draws a big crowd for both of us. We’re looking forward to it.

“Hopefully, a bunch of fans will come out and see a good football game.”

Both Graceville and Cottondale have struggled all season, with the Hornets suffering through illness early in the year, and the Tigers falling prey to a heavyweight schedule.

Graceville dropped close losses to 7-1 Blountstown and district runner-up FAMU in Tallahassee.

The Tigers also fell to 2B Marianna, as well as 6-2 Northview and 7-1 Liberty County on the road.

A 42-6 loss to District 1-1B champs Jefferson eliminated the Tigers from postseason play for the first time since 2004.

The Hornets started off with an impressive showing in defeat against Marianna on the road, but the flu bug made Cottondale short-handed for the next few weeks.

After close road losses to Maclay and Franklin County, the Hornets fell at home to FAMU, Chipley, and Jefferson.

The Hornets got their first win on Oct. 23, a 56-16 victory over Rocky Bayou.

Although the stakes are different, Wertenberger said that tonight’s game will be similar to several previous matchups between the Hornets and Tigers.

“They’ve got more speed than we do, which they usually do,” the coach said of the Hornets. “They’ve got a couple kids who can break it, so we’ll have our hands full containing them. They do so many things that make it difficult to plan for them.

“We’re usually two teams that are comparable physically — similar kids, similar teams.  Usually, what it comes down to with a Cottondale-Graceville game is whoever hangs on to the ball will have the best chance of winning.”

If the Tigers can win tonight and again over Chipley, it won’t make up for not making the postseason, but Wertenberger said it could make the offseason much more enjoyable.

“In every game you want the kids to play their best. It doesn’t matter if you’re 1-6, 2-6 or 10-3. You want to play your best every Friday night,” the coach said. “But we definitely want to finish the season on a winning note. If we can win the last two, we’d feel pretty good going into the offseason.

“That it’s Cottondale and Chipley would make it that much better for the fans.”