Appomattox – Appomattox County football remains the cog of a community united. ‘The Power of One’ ran off three consecutive state titles from 2015-2017. The Raiders are back in the state semifinals after missing the final 4 in 2018.
The Raiders claimed their fourth region title in a five year span Friday night with a win over Dogwood District rival Gretna. Coach Doug Smith credits their offense for being bolstered by physicality and skill, while their defense has continued to get better by perfecting the fundamentals.
Appomattox lost 2 of their first 3 games to start the season, but haven’t looked back since.
They have reeled off 10 straight victories, outscoring their opponents by a staggering 473-111 margin.
“A big thing that they’ve done this year is through the struggles they’ve become stronger and they’ve become more of a unit like we always want, one unit. But they’ve learned to play for each other, community, school and not be about themselves,” coach Smith said.
"We’ve worked hard for this since the spring. After that first loss Coach Smith told us we had to get back right, we can’t let that happen again. So we just have to get back right, " Raiders running back Jaheim Scruggs said.
Appomattox welcomes Class 1 Region D champion Graham on Saturday. the G-Men are 11-2 on the season. Kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m. from Bragg Stadium.