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By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
It is not the flu shot or lower gas prices or even an end to all the political vitriol but playing Wirt County could so something to help a reeling Calhoun football team.
The Red Devils, now 2-4 and riding a four-game slide, travel to Elizabeth tonight to play the Wirt Tigers in something of a breather tucked inside a stretch of schedule laid out by someone akin to the Marquis De Sade.
In the past five weeks the Red Devils have played Clay (sixth in AA), Williamstown (first in A), Wahama (seventh in A) and Roane County. When Roane County is the best bet at a win ⦠it's a tough stretch.
Wirt, on the other hand, should not be.
The Tigers have, to put it kindly, not been good.
The Tigers beat Hannan. They played Gilmer (a team Calhoun beat 75-18) close. But most times out the Tigers have been hammered.
For Calhoun getting Wirt on the schedule at this time is nice.
The Red Devils need a modicum of success after a tough run.
The Red Devils played tough through the four-game skid, with the possible exception of the 36-8 shellacking meted out by Wahama, but came away with four on the 'L' side of the board.
Last Friday's loss to Roane County was especially tough since the Red Devils showed they could play with the Raiders before giving up two easy touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
One came at the expense of Calhoun's at-times suspect pass defense while the other came on a fluke play when a Roane back who appeared to have been stopped kept chugging and broke away for the score.
How suspect has the Red Devils' pass defense been at times? So suspect that a huge (6-7, 270-pounds) and slow Roane receiver was able to get past the defense easily and was about 10 yards away from the nearest defender when he was lobbed a pass he walked in for a touchdown ⦠hopefully Wirt County does not have much of a passing offense.
Should Calhoun beat the Tigers it could renew their spirits and send them into a must-win game against AA powerhouse Braxton County the following Friday.
The game, as is all games, is called "must-win" because the Red Devils need to win all their remaining games to keep alive any playoff hopes they have.
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