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Wildcats play host to 5A No. 1 Ware County, Redskins back on road again with trip up I-16 to Treutlen County
football

Richmond Hill will have no time to relax and reflect on last Friday’s 34-7 win at Effingham County. The Wildcats will be jumping into the fire with both feet Friday when they host defending Class 5A state champion Ware County which will enter the 7:30 p.m. game at Wildcats Stadium ranked No. 1 in the state and riding a 15-game winning streak. 

While Richmond Hill was coasting past the Rebels the Gators had their hands full with Appling County as they held off a late Pirates rally for a 20-17 win. Bryan County, meanwhile, was dominant in defeating Class A-DII Lincoln County which was ranked No. 4 in the state entering the contest. The 28-16 victory was the Redskins’ first ever over a team ranked in the Top 10.

Austin “Smush” Clemons was outstanding on both sides of the ball for the Redskins as he rushed for 181 yards while racking up 11 tackles, two for a loss, and coming up with an interception.

Coach Cherard Freeman’s team will be a heavy favorite when it plays at Treutlen County at 7:30 p.m. Friday against an Eagles team looking to snap a 15game losing streak. The Vikings dropped their opener to Jenkins County, 41-13.

Bryan County and Treutlen do have some history as the Redskins’ very first football game in 1976 was against Treutlen. The 26-6 loss was the first of 13 straight to the Vikings. The Redskins broke that streak last year when they rolled to a 56-0 win.

A Bryan County win would mark its first 2-0 start since the 2013 team opened up 5-0 en route to an 8-3 season.

If Richmond Hill is going to post its first ever win over a No. 1 ranked team and first against Ware (0-8) it is going to have to control the line of scrimmage something it did at Effingham.

That means Coach Matt LeZotte will be looking for a big game from Thomas Zimbalatti, a 6-foot-3 330-pound junior right guard who has shown he can move mountains.

Zimbalatti is Richmond Hill’s best-known player and currently drawing the most attention of college recruiters after being a first team Region 2-6A selection as a freshman and a first team pick last year in Region 1-7A.

“Thomas is one of the, and has been, one of the most competitive, enjoyable young men I’ve coached,” LeZotte said. “He’s a guy…when you say a guy that loves to practice it’s such an understatement about him.

“He comes up and thanks us every single day,” LeZotte said. “He says, ‘Thank you Coach and he thanks all of our coaching staff for the effort that we put in. He truly appreciates it and understands it.

“He’s a guy who has goals about what he wants to do and play at the next level. He understands he has to work very hard to reach those goals. It’s been fun going through the process with him. He’s going to be a special find for whoever picks him.”

By his count Zimbalatti said he attended 12-13 camps this summer in an effort to gain exposure. He was in camps, for example, at Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Florida Atlantic and Fordham.

“He wants to play ball and he can play at a high level,” LeZotte said. “He’s going to push some folks around. He can move a defensive lineman. He’s been working on all of his deficiencies…he’s going to have a phenomenal junior campaign.”

There’s no questioning Zimbalatti’s ability and drive. His biggest drawback, by his own admission, is his height which makes it more difficult to get looks from Power 5 schools.

“I’m a little bit shorter than I need to be,” Zimbalatti said. “At Georgia they want those 6-7, 6-8 guys.

“The camps give you really good competition, stuff you won’t get around here,” Zimbalatti said. “You find out how you stack up against a guy from Birmingham or Atlanta. They’ll have an offensive and defensive line challenge and its against linemen from all around the country.”

That was summer. On Friday night the challenge will be a Ware defense which limited Appling to 176 yards.

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