Guess who’s on the road against this week?
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Westminster is the only real guess, because that’s where the Wildcats have been for more than a month. The Wildcats have become this year’s Road Warriors and make their sixth straight start away from home this week when they play at Adairsville in the Class AAA quarterfinals.
The Wildcats finished the regular with road games against Douglass, Washington and North Clayton, then traveled to Brooklet to play Southeast Bulloch and to LaGrange to play Callaway. That’s five straight wins since their last loss to Blessed Trinity on Oct. 16.
“We had to win three in a row just to make the playoffs and we’ve found a way to win games on the road,” coach Gerry Romberg said.
The Wildcats began the season ranked No. 3 in the state, but they dropped out after losses to Laney and Elbert County. But the season probably turned around after their were beaten by Therrell.
“We had several guys out that week and (Therrell) made plays,” Romberg said. “We woke up after that. They could have played out the string, but instead they found ways to get better.”
Westminster responded with a decisive win over Decatur and was tied with No. 2 Blessed Trinity until the fourth quarter.
“You could tell we were getting better,” Romberg said.
Now they find themselves back in the quarterfinals, one win away from reaching the semifinals for the second straight year. Westminster (8-4) will have its work cut out this week against 11-1 Adairsville, whose only loss has come against defending state champion and No. 1-ranked Calhoun.
“They’re well-coached and they’ve got some good players,” Romberg said. “After you get past the first round, all the teams are going to be good. I tell our kids that it’s about us and our focus is on what we need to do.”
Westminster enters the game as healthy as possible after 12 games. They are led by quarterback Rankin Woley and running back Zay Malcome, who both missed three games earlier this season. Romberg said Woley is the glue that holds the team together and said about Malcome that “typically good things happen when you get him the ball.”
