Westover defense tightening up

ALBANY — Westover head coach Octavia Jones wanted a little bit more out of his defensive line heading into last week’s rivalry game against Dougherty.

The Patriots gave up 28 points in a win over Pelham and 21 points in a loss to Monroe. Jones believed the Westover defense could deliver a bigger stop.

“In the pregame talk we had with them before we left the school, I went over to the defense and challenged our defensive line,” Jones said. I felt like we hadn’t been playing well defensively because our defensive line hadn’t been making things happen up front.”

Simply put, that defensive line responded to Jones’ challenge. Two goal-line stands and three fumble recoveries paved the way for Westover’s 40-13 romp over Dougherty and a split of the season series against in-town opponents.

For a defense that allowed opponents to score 20 or more points just four times last year, the performance against Dougherty was a return to form.

“They were able to go out and pressure the quarterback and cause turnovers and make things happen,” Jones said.

Westover (2-1) enters GHSA Region 1-4A competition this week, hosting Americus-Sumter at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Hugh Mills Stadium.

The visiting Panthers (1-2) encountered a strong defensive effort last week in their 49-14 loss to Lee County, the top-ranked team in Class 6A.

Americus-Sumter’s first two drives were ended by turnovers, giving Lee County the ball deep in Panthers territory. That helped allow Lee County running back Nikko Cruz score five touchdowns, four of which came in the first quarter.

Still, Americus-Sumter showed flashes of play-making ability.

Kobe Lewis scored both of the Panthers’ touchdowns last week, including one on a long kickoff return.

Lewis racked up 358 rushing yards in Americus-Sumter’s first two games, a 20-18 loss to Crisp County, now ranked second in Class 3A, and a 33-14 win over Dooly County.

“Our defense is really predicated on trying to keep people out of the end zone,” Jones said. “We realize that teams are going to be able to get yards on you and move the ball sometimes. But our ultimate goal is to keep them out of the end zone.”