When Orangeburg-Wilkinson takes the field tonight in Irmo, they’ll face arguably one of their toughest challenges of the season in the form of Mustafa Greene.

The 6-1, 205-pound running back helped the Yellow Jackets pick up a 49-15 win against Spring Valley by tallying 175 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. Tonight, he’ll look to assist Irmo in notching their fourth win of the season when they host the Bruins at 7:30 p.m.

“Irmo is a pretty good football team overall,” Bruins head coach Tommy Brown said. “Basically, their game plan is set to run the football and Mustafa is probably averaging 35 carries per game. So, their game plan is to give it to him and let him make plays. We‘ve got to try to slow him down a little bit and, hopefully, we’ll be able to play with them.”

According to Scout.com, Greene is currently listed as the 41st-best running back in the nation while Rivals.com has him ranked as the 11th-best player in the state. Knowing the type of running that back Greene is, Brown knows that it won’t be easy stopping him.

“I don’t think you ever stop a person like him,” Brown said. “Basically, they’re going to give to him enough that you’re not going to stop him. They’re good enough offensively where they don’t have to have him score, but all we’re going to do is try to slow him down.”

For O-W, time of possession will definitely be a factor as the Bruins’ offense will do all they can to keep the ball out of the hands of the Yellow Jackets’ offense. If the Bruins aren’t able to keep the Irmo offense off the field, it will be up to the defense to stifle the Yellow Jackets’ running game. It is a challenge that Brown hopes his team will be up for as they face their first region opponent of the season.

“This is what football is all about,” he said. “You play this game or you come in as a coach and you look forward to the challenges. What we try to impress upon our kids is he’s a great back and they’ve got a great offense and this is something that you should want to face.”

The Bruins come into tonight’s contest after downing county rival Lake Marion 49-25 last week. O-W was able to fend off the Gators’ second-half surge to improve their record to 2-2. However, they still failed to play at a consistent level for four quarters, according to Brown, and that will be a vital aspect of their game if they hope to pick up a win against the 3-1 Yellow Jackets.

“We’ve got a team that’s really solid,” he said. “They play four quarters of football. They have a good kicking game. With everything they do, we can’t afford to get behind. We can’t afford turnovers. We have to be solid and we have to play four quarters of football if we’re even going to stay in the football game with them. That’s the challenge that we made to ourselves. Now, we have to step up and do it.”

T&D Sports Writer Emery Glover can be reached by e-mail at eglover@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5532. Check out his blog, Cover 2, at www.thetandd.com.

 

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