Handley’s Daquavian Slaughter had 3.5 sacks, forced two fumbles – including the one on this hit against RCHS quarterback Bryant Lee – and caught a touchdown pass in the Tigers’ 38-7 preseason win over RCHS.
Most coaches will tell you that a team’s growth between the first and second games of the season is exponential. A less common version of this philosophy is hearing how much a team grows from the first half of the first game to the second half of the same game.
But that was exactly the observation Handley head coach Larry Strain made after his Tigers overcame an early stalemate against RCHS to win Friday’s preseason game in this old district rivalry, 38-7.
“We’re playing with so many young players, the first half was a disaster,” Strain said. “I have someone out there on the PAT team that’s not even on the PAT team. It was really a stepping stone between the first and second half because they were there. We corrected some things at halftime. I think we improved a lot after halftime from the first half.”
If Handley’s team had received a “most improved” grade during the game, RCHS’s grade would likely have to be “incomplete.” That’s because the Tigers played without their two running backs, Mo Winston and Amari Molden, and last year’s best tackler, Matthew White. All three were on the bench but not in uniform.
Ryder Pinson put up solid numbers as a starter, rushing for 80 yards on 14 attempts, but RCHS head coach Pat Prestridge seemed to use the game to test his two quarterbacks while he focuses on a starter for the season.
Rhett Huddleston was there from the start and looked much more comfortable on the field, which was to be expected after being used as a backup behind Avion Willis for the past two seasons.
Bryant Lee pushed Huddleston for the starting job in the offseason, but struggled with a relentless pass rush from Handley that resulted in seven sacks and forced nine total negative running plays from the two quarterbacks. Neither RCHS QB put up big numbers in the passing or running game, but Huddleston accounted for RCHS’s only touchdown of the night with a 30-yard run in the third quarter.
After the teams traded punts on the first three possessions of the game, Handley finally broke through, taking a 7-0 lead with a 23-yard pass from Cordan Patterson to Daquavian Slaughter. Slaughter was a thorn in RCHS’ side on both sides of the ball, catching a touchdown pass on offense and recording 3.5 sacks on defense.
With Winston and Molden on the bench for RCHS, Handley’s new number one running back was in full swing. Handley’s first seven runs all went into the belly of JaMarcus Daniel’s number 7 jersey, and while the gains were modest at first, he eventually showed off his ability to make big plays.
He ran 39 yards to set up Handley’s first touchdown, and his final two runs of the night both scored six points. He scored a 29-yard touchdown in the second quarter and a 65-yard run early in the second half to give Handley a 28-0 lead. Daniel finished the game with 161 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.
Both teams will now turn their attention to their respective season openers, both of which will be rivalry games in their own right. Handley hosts Clay Central, which defeated Southside-Gadsden 34-7 in a preseason game at Lineville on Friday. And RCHS hosts Woodland, which lost 53-6 to Beulah in a preseason game on Thursday.
