By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

LAGRANGE – It’ll be an early wake-up call for the Troup Tigers.

Most high-school games are played at night, but there are exceptions.

Troup will discover one of those exceptions on Saturday when it takes on the Kendrick Cherokees at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Kinnett Stadium.

There will be four games at the stadium that day, beginning with the Week 2 showdown between Troup and Kendrick.

“The earlier probably the better because of the next week and the turnaround and the recovery time,” Troup head coach Tanner Glisson said. “So we just have to make sure we’re hydrated, and in good shape. I think we’ve managed this week pretty well so far because it’s hot out there.

“I think we’ve really pushed through in the heat,” Glisson added.  “I think we’ve really improved this week.”

The Tigers are coming off a dramatic 31-28 victory over the Hardaway Hawks in their season opener last week.

After Hardaway scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives, Troup got a 17-yard scoring pass from Montez Crowe to Jamari Thrash midway through the fourth quarter to take the lead.

Troup’s defense, which had struggled to slow down Hardaway’s power running game, made a big stop to secure the victory.

While pleased to see his team come away with the win, Glisson said there has been plenty to work on in practice this week.

“To start out with a quality opponent like Hardaway, you’re licking your wounds a little bit as far as being beat up,” Glisson said. “We’ve beat on ourselves a little bit this week. We’re working on tackling on defense.”

Troup’s offense is rolling.

After scoring 48 points in a preseason game against Harris County, Troup added 31 points against Hardaway.

Crowe set a school single-game record with 415 passing yards, and he threw two touchdown passes to Kobe Hudson, and one to Thrash.

“We’re excited about him and his opportunities, and he’s got another opportunity to play well this week and put some more points on the board,” Glisson said of Crowe.

For Thrash, it was a smashing debut in his first regular-season game at Troup after transferring from LaGrange.

“He’s enjoying himself, he’s enjoying the hard work, he’s enjoying being successful,” Glisson said. “He’s a great addition to what we have going.”

Troup also got a touchdown run from Tyree Carlisle, and Carson Wreyford made a field goal and four extra points.

Hardaway also had plenty of success offensively, with a pair of running backs combining for more than 200 rushing yards.

Glisson said the key is to continue to improve in all aspects of the game.

“We’re not working on Kendrick as much as we’re working on ourselves,” Glisson said. “These coaches have worked as hard and have pushed as hard as anybody I’ve been around. We keep trying to push (the players) higher and higher, which is a great thing.”

Glisson added that while winning games is obviously important, he and his coaches are looking at the bigger picture.

“We can identify a lot easier than the people in the stands are we playing well, are we getting better,” Glisson said. “The scoreboard means a lot, but you can trick yourself by looking at numbers. We want to see what we’re doing execution-wise.”