SOUTH POINT – It would be somewhat of an understatement to say the South Point Pointers are going to be in a dog fight.

Thursday, September 21, 2000

SOUTH POINT – It would be somewhat of an understatement to say the South Point Pointers are going to be in a dog fight.

In this case, attribute the statement to Pointers head coach Brent Terry.

South Point, 2-2, hosts unbeaten McDermott Northwest (4-0) Friday and Terry said "I think it’s going to be a dog fight."

The Pointers are coming off a 23-7 loss at Wheelersburg while Northwest held on to beat Lucasville Valley 21-20.

South Point trailed just 7-0 at the half on a blocked punt that went for a touchdown. The Pointers lost three fumbles in the third quarter that led to nine points and led to the loss.

"Northwest is a good football team," Terry said. "We have a chance, but we have to play mistake-free. We can’t turn the ball over against them. We went through that last week.

"If we can play without those kind of mistakes and penalties, then we’ve got a chance. But we’ve got to play well."

The defense will have to play well in order to stop or at least slow down Northwest running back Doug Montavon, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior. Montavon is Northwest’s leading rusher after running for 1, 075 yards last season at Portsmouth Notre Dame.

"He’s a nice runner. He changes directions well, he’s a good start and stop runner, and he’s good at breaking tackles. We have to put the pads on him," Terry said.

Besides Montavon, Terry said the Pointers must be concerned with fullback Darren Eichenlaub and quarterback Jason Jenkins.

"They feature Montavon, but you can’t overlook the fullback, and their quarterback is a nice player. He’s about 6-2 and he threw the ball pretty well against Lucasville," Terry said.

Another player the Pointers must contend with is two-way tackle Jake Pertuset.

"Pertuset is a quality football player. He really caught our eye. But they block pretty well as a team," Terry said.

South Point had 200 total yards last week, but 158 were through the air. Terry said that kind of balance has to change.

"I think our defense can hang in there, we just need to rush the ball," Terry said. "If we can’t run the ball, we’re going to see all kinds of pressure from their defense."