Calhoun senior defensive end Landon Rice attempts to strip the ball as he sacks Elbert County’s Mecole Hardman during last Friday’s GHSA Class AAA quarterfinal at Phil Reeve Stadium in Calhoun, Ga.CALHOUN, Ga. – Understand that Landon Rice needs no extra motivation when he takes the football field.
Yet as the Calhoun High School senior two-way star’s prep days are quickly coming to a close, the future Auburn player has taken his game to a new level.
Rice intends to enroll early at Auburn and will take his final high school class in a little more than two weeks. The finality of it all creeps into his mind every so often, and though he’s not the sentimental type, knowing the end is near cranks up Rice’s always-high-revving motor even more.
“The end is coming, and I definitely want to leave on a good note,” the 6-foot-5, 255-pound tight end/defensive end said. “I’ve been here two years now, and we’ve accomplished some great things. Now I want to be a part of the first back-to-back (state) champions at Calhoun.”
Rice and the top-ranked Yellow Jackets (13-0) travel to No. 2 Blessed Trinity (12-0-1) Friday for a Class AAA state semifinal in Roswell. After surviving consecutive overtime games against Peach County and Elbert County at home, the Jackets face perhaps their toughest test against the Titans, whose closest playoff game was a 38-12 win over Jefferson.
Calhoun coach Hal Lamb believes his elite defense is up for the task coming off perhaps its finest showing of the season. The Jackets held Elbert County and star Mecole Hardman to 13 points in regulation.
“Our defense did an awesome job last week, and we’ll need it again Friday,” Lamb said. “It all starts with our (defensive) front. If they do their job and tie up linemen, our linebackers are free to make tackles. That may have been Landon’s most complete game.”
It’s not a fun job, especially for a three-man front. However, ends Rice and Blaine Anderson and rotating noseguards Austin Stout and Drew McEntyre are doing more than just occupying would-be blockers.
They’re destroying them.
“The key to beating the double teams is to defeat the first block at the point of attack,” Rice said. “If me and Blaine blow the tackle up and drive him back, there won’t be a double team from the tight end or H-back. If you wait to attack, you’ll get beat.
“It’s just a battle between the defensive end and the tackle, and you’ve just got to whip him every time.”
Rice and Anderson did just that on consecutive plays in the third overtime against Elbert County, each time allowing linebacker Jireh Wilson to fly into the backfield and tackle Hardman for lost yardage. The Blue Devils were forced to kick a field goal, and the Jackets won the game two plays later on quarterback Kaelan Riley’s touchdown run.
“When those guys are dominating like they can, it makes our job easy,” Wilson said following the dramatic win. “I can’t say enough about how well those guys are playing up front.”
The challenge will be somewhat different Friday. Blessed Trinity doesn’t have a player like Hardman, but it does have 1,700-yard rusher Milton Shelton and a group of offensive linemen who work well together.
Rice expects blocks to come from different angles, but he also expects Calhoun’s defensive line to adjust.
“Hopefully we can tire them down,” he said. “They’re good up front, but they’re not very big. It’s definitely going to be a battle in the trenches, but me and Blaine feel we can dominate and cause some trouble for their backs. If we get penetration and we win the line of scrimmage, there won’t be anywhere to run.
“That’s what we’re counting on.”
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.