Two dominant backs in Jacob Cornejo and Jalen Fletcher are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Cherokee County Warriors will take on the West Morgan Rebels at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Cherokee County had no problem doing just that on Friday. They claimed a resounding 49-14 win over Haleyville on the road. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Cherokee County.
It was another big night for Cornejo, who rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 8.1 yards per carry. Cornejo hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for seven straight games.
Meanwhile, West Morgan put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Corner 35-14. Given West Morgan's advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama football rankings (they are ranked 43rd, while Corner is ranked 127th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
West Morgan's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Braxton Peters, who threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns on only 19 passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Ti'Airrius Mosley did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 167 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Their wins bumped Cherokee County to 11-1 and West Morgan to 12-0.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Cherokee County has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 275.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like West Morgan struggles in that department as they've been averaging 234.8 per game. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
Cherokee County strolled past West Morgan when the teams last played back in November of 2022 by a score of 42-28. The rematch might be a little tougher for Cherokee County since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
