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By C.Y. Peters

This Friday night, the Unaka Rangers will travel to Nickelsville, Virginia, to face the Twin Springs Titans in a much-anticipated clash. The Titans kicked off their season with a dominant 27-0 victory last Friday, scoring seven points in the first half and exploding for 20 points in the third quarter to seal the win. Meanwhile, the Rangers had a bye week to recover from their exhausting season opener, a high-scoring marathon against Class 3A Chuckey-Doak that saw a combined 117 points and 23 penalties in a game that lasted over three hours.

Unaka head coach O’Brien Bennett knows his team faces a significant challenge against a strong Twin Springs squad. “They’re pretty tough,” Bennett acknowledged earlier this week. “This group of seniors has already won 29 games in their career. They shut out our offense last season.” The memory of last year’s game, where the Rangers struggled to move the ball against the Titans’ stingy defense, looms large as Unaka prepares for Friday night.

Twin Springs’ offense operates out of the split-back veer, a system designed to keep defenses guessing and punish them for overcommitting. “Offensively, they are a split-back veer team and are equally willing and capable of sustaining drives with three yards and a cloud of dust all the way to the end zone or of breaking an explosive play if you miss an assignment in their option game,” Bennett explained. The Rangers’ defense will need to be disciplined and sharp, with each player sticking to their assignments to avoid the big plays that can quickly turn the game in the Titans’ favor.

Unaka will be looking to put the frustrations of their opening loss behind them and start building momentum for the season. The Rangers showed flashes of their potential against Chuckey-Doak, but costly penalties and missed opportunities ultimately held them back. With an extra week of practice and preparation, Unaka aims to iron out those mistakes and put forth a more complete performance.

The game promises to be a physical contest, with both teams likely to rely heavily on their ground games. For Unaka, a victory on the road against a strong opponent like Twin Springs could set the tone for the rest of the season as the clock ticks closer to the 7:30 p.m. kickoff.