At deadline time for this story, the Charleston Tigers were getting ready to play the Nashville Scrappers in their final non-conference game of the season. Depending on the outcome of that game, Charleston will go into this week’s conference opener either undefeated or with a 2-1 record. Either way, it has been a very successful start to the season for Charleston, and the Tigers will now begin their conference march toward their showdown with Boonville in October that will likely be for the 3A-1 conference championship.
But Lee Larkin’s Pirates will have a lot to say about that. Larkin’s teams are always very well-prepared, and he has been very good at keeping Greenland competitive each year. And this year, it appears that Greenland will once again be in the upper tier of teams fighting for playoff spots in the 3A-1.
I asked Charleston head football coach Ricky May for his assessment of Greenland, and he responded by saying, “Greenland has been playing well. The last two games they have gotten after their opponents, outscoring them 92-16. Their quarterback, Meridith (senior Max Meredith) has been lights out and producing points, and putting his team on his back. Their defense has been playing well too. They have only given up 16 points. They are very well-coached; Lee Larkin has been producing great teams for a while. We will have to be ready to play.”
There is a respect between the two coaches, it is evident when you talk to both of them. In 2019, I covered the Greenland game at Charleston, and the Tigers won a thriller that night with Greenland running out of time for the go-ahead score just inside the Charleston red zone. The following year, I spoke with Larkin on the sideline during a state playoff game at Paris. The Greenland coach mentioned Coach May by saying that he liked him very much, even though he beat him that year. Tongue and cheek humor, but nevertheless, a deep respect for each other between the two coaches.
Greenland returns seven starters each on both offense and defense from a year ago. The Pirates will throw the ball around the field from the spread formation and will fly to the ball on defense with good team speed. According to Hootens‘, the Pirates have good and experienced skill players, but their lack of depth could be an issue. For Greenland, the Pirates defense will have to find a way to contain the Tigers’ All-State senior quarterback Brandon Scott. Scott is a highly effective passer who also leads his team in rushing yardage. He finds a way to be creative and make things happen on the run, and in the words of his coach, “He is a winner.”
Kickoff in Greenland on the new artificial turf is set for 7 p.m. on Friday. Fall weather is here, and it should be a great night for a good high school football game. Week one conference winners will quickly have the lead on half of their conference, so the first week of conference play is extremely critical to not only qualifying for the state playoffs, but earning the highest possible seeding.
Good luck to the Tigers, and watch for a recap of this game next week in the RNN online platform at residentnewsnetwork.com.
