By HARVEY SIMPSON

Dispatch Sports Editor

ROCHELLE — Officially speaking, Wilcox High won’t be involved in state playoff action until next Friday night when it takes the field as anywhere from a No. 2 to a No. 4 seed from Region 2-A.

Toward that end, head coach Mark Ledford says tomorrow night’s regular season finale at Irwin County should help prepare them for the added pressure that comes with postseason competition.

“With the importance this game has, it’s going to have a playoff atmosphere centered around it,” the Patriots’ mentor said. “It’s a contest that’s crucial to both of us when it comes to determining where and who we’ll be playing next week so both of us will no doubt be pulling out all the stops.”

If Wilcox wins, it earns the No. 2 seed behind Twiggs County and a home field edge. If it loses and Turner upsets Hawkinsville, Irwin gets the No. 2 slot, Wilcox slips to No. 3 and Hawkinsville winds up No. 4.

If, however, the Patriots lose and Hawkinville tops Turner, the Red Devils become No. 2, the Indians No. 3 and the Patriots drop all the way the way to No. 4.

Whlle Wilcox (7-2, 4-1) will likely be favored over Irwin (5-4, 3-2) by most observers because of their better record, Ledford is doing anything but assuming his team will come out on top.

“I’ve seen 3-4 of Irwin’s game films and it’s very obvious they’ve steadily improved as the season has progressed,” he said. “You can immediately tell they’ve got a sound, well-coached team that does a good job of taking advantage of the talent they have.

‘Offensively, they’ll be the first true wing-T opponent we’ve faced and in No. 21 (Kevious Robinson) they’ve got the fastest kid I’ve seen play high school football in a long time. He’s not the only player they have with good speed, though, as they’ve got a lot of weapons on that side of the football.

“They can also hurt you with the fullback trap and although they don’t throw the ball an awful lot they have a tendency to get their receivers open because the opposition is so concerned about stopping their ground game.”

Whichever way the Indians choose to attack, Ledford said they have a solid offensive line featuring Terrence Woodard, a 300-pounder who for his size moves extremely well.

When Irwin is on defense, it primarily bases out of a 4-4 front but will show some different looks.

Please see PATRIOTS page 2B