SPORTS

Johnathan Bentley
Sports Editor
Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009

It’s hard to beat a team twice in the same season.

What about four times in two seasons?

That’s what the Walker Vikings are shooting for when they travel to McAdory for a second-round playoff game Friday night in McCalla.

The teams have met twice each of the last two seasons with Walker winning the first three matchups — the last two by the slimmest of margins.

No. 9 Walker (9-2) turned its season around in Week 3 with a remarkable comeback against the Yellow Jackets.

Down 21-0 at the half, Walker stormed back for a 31-28 overtime win.

The game marked McAdory’s only loss of the season.

Since the McAdory victory, Walker is 9-0. The Yellow Jackets (9-1) have won seven straight games since the loss. Walker also beat the Yellow Jackets 17-14 in the first round of the state playoffs last season.

The Yellow Jackets are led by a very balanced offensive attack.

No. 7 McAdory has four running backs with at least 300 yards and quarterback Brandon Bender has made few mistakes, throwing for 1,048 yards with 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

His top target is Willie Moses, who has 18 catches for 366 yards and eight touchdowns.

Henderrius Whittsett is the team’s leading rusher with 362 yards and two touchdowns on 54 carries.

Both Walker’s passing game and ground attack revolve around two-back systems.

Lamarr Steward, who has 814 yards and 11 touchdowns on 124 carries, and Cody Staten (596 yards and six TDs on 91 carries) lead Walker’s ground game.

Quarterbacks Carson Roberts and Max Young have combined for 1,516 passing yards and 14 touchdowns.

Roberts has completed 61-of-108 passes for 882 yards and eight touchdowns and two interceptions while Young has completed 41-of-81 for 634 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. Young has also rushed for 282 yards and four scores.

Walker is coming off a 32-15 win over Parker in the first round last week. McAdory routed Pleasant Grove 42-14 in its playoff opener last week.

Dadeville at Cordova

The Blue Devils will face one of their toughest challenges of the season this week when the Dadeville Tigers come to Cordova.

Both teams come in with 10-1 records.

Cordova’s lone loss came at Class 5A Hartselle in Week 5 while Dadeville lost to Class 3A No. 1 Trinity in Week 4.

Dadeville is 21-2 over the last two seasons. The Tigers went 10-0 in the regular season last year before losing to Gordo in the second round of the state playoffs.

The Tigers took down West Blocton 28-12 at home last week. No. 2-ranked Cordova hammered Montevallo 41-14.

Dadeville, which moves up to Class 4A next season, is paced by do-it-all athlete Clint Westbrook. The junior has 1,350 all-purpose yards and a total of 18 touchdowns. He has rushed for 659 yards, has 272 receiving yards and 419 return yards.

Quarterback Kyle Caldwell is 133-of-214 passing for 2,045 yards and 20 touchdowns as well as seven interceptions. He is also the team’s kicker and has converted 44-of-50 extra points and has made 7-of-10 field goals with a long of 41.

The teams leading receivers are Kieran Sturdivant (24 receptions for 427 yards and four TDs) and Chris Waldrep (30 receptions for 519 and six TDs).

Cordova is led by running back Ryan Smith, who has 1,209 yards and 18 touchdowns on 123 carries. Quarterback Jake Howton has 1,246 offensive yards.

He has rushed for 841 yards and 15 touchdowns and has completed 29-of-44 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns.

Cordova is 10-1 in its last 11 playoff games with the lone loss coming in last year’s championship game against Leeds.

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