With eight sophomores and a freshman listed as starters, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Stephens County. The Indians are ahead of schedule.
Stephens County is 8-1 heading into tonight’s game at perennial power Buford. The winner claims the Region 8-AAAA championship.
“Buford sets the bar, especially for our classification and in some cases for the state,” Stephens County coach Frank Barden said. “They set the bar and everybody has to rise to that bar.”
Barden, who faced Buford multiple times during his tenure at Cartersville, says he instructed his underdog team to control what it control tonight.
“Each player is going to look himself in the mirror and decided how he’s going to play and how he’s going to go about his business,” Barden said.
The Indians, while young, a giant senior leader in 6-7, 322-pound offensive tackle Ben Cleveland, who is committed to Georgia. Barden says Cleveland is extremely athletic for his size.
“He’s an over-grown athlete. He can move,” Barden said of Cleveland. “These types of guys don’t come around but maybe once in a (coaching) career like that. He’s a good player. We do run behind him a lot.”
Cleveland has seen time at tight end this season and at defensive end last year, but tonight he’ll primarily be anchoring the offensive line, which Barden says is the strength of the team.
“We feel like our kids have developed and played and gotten better each week,” Barden said. “Our young guys that are basically our skill guys have grown up over the year and played well. Defensively, we just play hard. I like this team, because they’re very coachable, good kids with good character. And they play really hard.”
About the Author
