After open week, Opp takes on Geneva Friday

Opp’s recovered, refocused and ready to take on Geneva tomorrow night at Channel-Lee Stadium.

The Bobcats had an open week leading into tomorrow’s game, and most of it was spent focusing on themselves, OHS head football coach Brent Hill said.

“We spent the week to recover and refocus a little bit on the fundamentals and evaluated where we are,” Hill said. “We really didn’t get started on Geneva until this week. They’re (Geneva) bigger than we are up front. Obviously, they’re a good football team.”

Hill added that GHS will enter the game to try and “physically manhandle us up front.”

“On the defensive side, if we need to keep them from going less than three yards a play,” he said. “On the offensive side, as soon as we get the ball, we need to score as soon as we can.”

Opp and Geneva have played a common opponent in Hillcrest-Evergreen. The Bobcats (2-1, 1-0 in Class 3A, Region 1) beat the Jaguars 34-32 two weeks ago, while the Panthers (3-1, 2-0) topped HHS, 29-27 last week.

“It’s going to be a pretty even match up,” Hill said.

Geneva is led by quarterback Nihle Daniels, who is averaging approximately 110 yards per game on the ground. He rushed for 160 yards and two scores in last week’s win.

Hill said Daniels is more of an elusive runner.

“They run the ball hard and the quarterback will catch you off guard going pound for pound,” he said.

Additionally, Hill said Geneva’s Jackson Griffin is also a threat as he is a power running back.

“They (Daniels and Griffin) are two different styles of runners,” he said.

Defensively, look for the Panthers to have a three-stack of linebackers along with a nose guard and defensive tackle who are good as well.

Having a week off before this game is beneficial mainly because it allows the players to get healthy, Hill said.

“The other thing it does is it allows us to refocus and reevaluate on what to improve on,” he said. “It gave us that time to evaluate.”

Kick off tomorrow night in Opp is at 7.