The T.R. Miller Tiger football team used several big plays to take down the Escambia County Blue Devils Friday night and they look to do the same this week at home in their region opener against the Opp Bobcats.
“It is always good to beat Atmore,” Riggs said of Friday’s win. “It is always a quality win if you could beat them. I thought we had a good, quality week of practice getting ready for them. The players, particularly in the first half and early in the third quarter in the second half, I thought they played hard. We made a lot of mistakes here and there, but I thought we made a lot of big plays in the game.’
Riggs said the difference in the score of the game was the big plays.
“We had the touchdown pass, the blocked punt, the punt return for a touchdown and the fumble recovery,” he said. “We had some really big plays in the first half that led to the win. We didn’t play quite as well in the second half as they got some momentum there in the third quarter, but we were able to score one more time and distance that thing out. Anytime you can beat Atmore, you ought to feel good and we did.”
As for the Bobcats of Opp this week, former T.R. Miller assistant coach Jack Whigham will bring Bobcat squad into Brewton Municipal Stadium this week for the Tigers’ first region game of the season.
It will be the first time the two squads have met on the varsity level since Whigham has been head coach.
Opp comes into the game with a 1-0 record after taking down defending 2A state champion Elba Friday night, 21-20.
“I would say they are one of the toughest teams just from the standpoint of their players are just the most physically tough that I have seen in awhile,” Riggs said. “The first thing that jumps out to you on field is just how hard they play. They get after it on every play. It is what has made them good. They won their region last year and watching film on them in the past, I don’t think they won just because they were better than their opponent. I think they won because they played harder than everyone else.
“I think that is a testament to Jack and what he has been able to do over there.”
Riggs said defensively Opp is a very good team.
“They have one big linebacker (No. 35 Quantavise Stoudemire) and he is really good,” Riggs said. “They play a lot of defensive lineman to keep everyone fresh. They have a number that can contribute and play well. They really do a nice job of stopping people from running the ball on them.”
On offense, Riggs said Opp is very physical.
“They run the ball a lot,” he said. “They may be in one tight end or two tight end formations, but they will run the ball. They will generally throw it seven or eight times a game. They have a big freshmen quarterback they are using (No. 11 Ty’Keenan White) and he is a really good player and they are using him a lot at quarterback now.
“They have a very physical running back in No. 40, Onterrio Jones, and he is a hard runner. I have been very impressed with their offensive line. They don’t get the ball outside a lot but they are a good inside, off-tackle run team.
“So we have our work cut out for us. It is going to be certainly the most physical game we have played this year.”
Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Brewton Municipal Stadium.