Opelika kicks off final year of McCracken era at Lanier

Opelika head coach Spence McCracken said his team learned a lot from its preseason game against Spain Park.

But the biggest lesson was one which he wishes he didn’t have to deal with as his team prepares to face Sidney Lanier tonight in Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl.

“We learned not to get ACLs torn,” McCracken said.

Already thin on returning starters, the Bulldogs took a big hit last Friday when senior defensive lineman Kevin Koelhepp was lost for the year with a torn ACL. He was expected to be one of just four returning starters on defense while only one starter returns on offense.

“Kevin’s gone for the season and he’ll get operated on Friday morning,” McCracken said. “So we’ve had to add some depth there — we just can’t afford to get anybody else hurt.”

Many eyes will be on Opelika as the Bulldogs enter tonight’s game kicking off McCracken’s final year as head coach.

However, the veteran coach makes no mention of that fact — instead focusing on what he says is a big and talented Sidney Lanier squad.

“We don’t have any film on them, but we know they’re big,” McCracken said. “They have a big offensive line, they’ll be really athletic and they’ll have a lot of speed — more speed than we saw last week with Spain Park.

“We’re going to have to do a good job tackling, executing and keeping their big bodies off of us.”

Part of McCracken and the Bulldogs being in the dark is the fact that Lanier opens the year with a new head coach — Steve Holloway.

Opelika, though, should have a pretty good idea of Holloway’s philosophy.

The last time the two teams locked horns came in the third round of the Class 6A playoffs at the Cramton Bowl in 2006. Opelika won that contest, 27-13.

Holloway was a member of the Poets’ coaching staff that year.

“We had a battle with them a few years ago and that offensive coordinator is now their head coach,” McCracken said. “He’s going to have a good staff and a good team, and I think it’s a good challenge for us to open up with a team like this that will present us some things that we’ll have to get used to during the season.”

Despite Opelika returning just one offensive starter, McCracken and the Bulldog faithful got a glimpse in the preseason game of how talented the offense may still be.

And the biggest part of that talent comes in the form of a 1-2 punch at running back.

Dae Spence is a 196-pound bulldozer of a back while junior Corey Grant is the speedster — the fastest athlete in Alabama as the reigning 100- and 200-meter track champion in 6A.

Josh Rowe continues to anchor the defense, but the absence of Koelhepp will leave a huge void on the front line.

While pleased with his team’s early showing, McCracken did say that his special teams needed great improvement heading into the regular-season opener.

Reeltown at Dadeville
The opening week of the high school football season always finds teams playing a non-region foe.

It also means teams usually going out of classification and facing off with old rivals.

That will be no different today and Friday.

Today, a pair of rivals will open up a day earlier than most of the state as Class 2A Reeltown travels to face Class 3A Dadeville.

The teams also opened the football season last year with Reeltown coming away with a hard-fought, 8-6 victory.

That started a downward spiral for Dadeville who finished the year 0-10. The Rebels, meanwhile, finished 4-6.

This season’s matchup between the two Tallapoosa County schools will mark the return of Reeltown’s standout athlete Anarius White.

As a sophomore quarterback in 2006, White tallied 1,790 total yards and 15 touchdowns.

However, he was forced to sit out last season due to academic problems, but now has his school work squared away and is ready to start his senior season. White is expected to serve a multitude of roles on the field for the Rebels.

While White is back, Reeltown also returns 18 starters from last year’s squad.

Dadeville will unveil a new spread offense — started by head coach Richard White in the wake of the team’s struggles last season.

The Tigers return seven on defense, but only four on the offensive side.

tpeavy@oanow.com | 737-2511