Whale Branch playing for home field as Academic Magnet comes to town

One of Jerry Hatcher’s points of pride at Whale Branch is that in his first four seasons as coach, only once have the Warriors finished lower than second in their region.

Though the region crown is off the table this year, the Warriors still can continue the trend with a victory over Class 2A rival Academic Magnet in Friday night’s regular-season finale.

“I want to be (No.) 2,” Hatcher said. “Region champion or region runner-up. I want to continue that.”

Whoever wins the showdown at Whale Branch locks down the No. 2 spot behind Region 6 champion Woodland, with the assurance of home field in next week’s opening round of the playoffs.

The Warriors (5-4, 3-1 region) enter the contest with a three-game winning streak since falling to Woodland 20-10 in their region opener. Two critical mistakes may have made all the difference, giving up an interception for a touchdown just before halftime and seeing a 65-yard TD run called back by a penalty.

“Those two kind of decided the region championship,” Hatcher said.

It’s a different Whale Branch squad that comes into Friday’s game, though. Workhorse back Irvan Mulligan has hit his stride, coming up just four yards short of 200-yard games when he ran for 196 last week against North Charleston.

“He’s getting better because his offensive line is getting better,” Hatcher said.

Equally important, though, has been the return of quarterback Marion Smalls, lost to a broken bone in his wrist the day before Whale Branch’s season opener. With the season’s extension created by Hurricane Matthew, Smalls has returned at a valuable time.

“I’ve said if there’s any good to come out of that, it was the chance to get him back,” Hatcher said. “He’s still not where he needs to be; his timing is off a little bit. But I’m more comfortable with him back there.”

Academic Magnet (5-4, 3-1) was a 28-0 loser to Woodland two weeks ago before bouncing back to beat Garrett Tech last week. The Raptors also are strong on the ground, with Steven Schlosser and Will Schnell keying a sweep that can pick up big yardage.

“They run it a little differently than anybody else,” Hatcher said. “It took me about five days to really figure it out. It’s almost like playing an option team. You’ve got to be in the right spot. There’s a read component to that sweep. You’ve got to be strong on the edge and condense that edge.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2016 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Whale Branch playing for home field as Academic Magnet comes to town."