Rangers open up with tough Black Knight team on the road
Published 2:15 pm Tuesday, August 15, 2023
- Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Ayden Greenless will be looked to in carrying a big load for the Ranger offense against Chuckey Doak in the season opener for the Rangers.
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STAR CORRESPONDENT
Folks on Stoney Creek are feeling pretty good about their Unaka Ranger football team this season and will get to see just how good the Rangers are when they open with a stiff contest on the road at Afton when the Rangers butt heads with the Black Knights of Chuckey Doak.
The game will kick off at 7:30 pm in the Black Hole.
Unaka will be utilizing the next man up mentality as gone is multi-state recognized Landon Ramsey who graduated. Junior Brynin Repass has been watching and waiting in the wings for the last three seasons and will get his first taste of starting quarterback against a defense of the Black Knights, who have been very stout in seasons past.
Another new face in the backfield will be junior Ayden Greenless who will be getting his first taste as a running back.
“Chuckey Doak has a really good football team that is coming off its best season in years with a lot of talent returning,” said Unaka head coach O’Brien Bennett. “Their defense is very aggressive and likes to attack, while they have a phenomenal quarterback in Brock Rush, who played wide receiver last season and a returning running back that had 1,500 yards rushing and 25 touchdowns. We are going to have to be able to stop the run and limit the big plays.”
Meanwhile, the focus for the Rangers leading up to Friday night’s contest is to work on getting the offense going. Bennett admitted that the team has been trying to find answers to some questions this week on how to get consistency and create some explosive plays.
“We are going to have to deal with the pressure that the defense is going to be bringing,” said Bennett. “We are going to have to move the chains and keep their offense on the sidelines as a way to contain them. A game can get out of hand pretty quickly if you give up big plays. The key is going to be in forcing them to have long drives.”
The Rangers are blessed to have a number of returning linemen that will allow Bennett to have some depth in keeping his defensive unit fresh.
