DASHER—The say the third time is a charm.

Two other instances this season, Georgia Christian looked to have their first home game.

Both of those games ended up being canceled due to Covid-19 in one way or the other.

The Generals are hoping this Friday proves to have a different story; one that ends in a win for the ball club.

“You know the other day I mentioned this being our first home game, and one of the guys made the joke that it could be our first home game,” head coach Chuck Knapp said. “We all got a kick out of that one for sure. So now it’s the big joke to not jinx the game. So, we have been saying that there is possibly an event that will take place on Friday night at 7:30 on the football field, because we just don’t want to jinx it.”

The Generals will take on Fullington this Friday, one of their unofficial rivals.

“We have a great relationship with Fullington,” Knapp said “I know their coach over there. He is a first-year head coach, but he was on staff last fall for them. We get along with them really well. The players all know each other because they have played against one another for years.”

“They have a good team. They are a disciplined group. They changed the offense up a bit this year; they are more of a power run team. They have a big guy carrying the ball for them. He is a guy that we will have to gang tackle, for sure.”

The last time the two teams played one another was in the playoffs. Georgia Christian walked off of the field as the winners and advanced to the next round.

“Fullington will have that chip on their shoulder,” Knapp said. “We ended their playoff hopes last year. It feels good to finally play in 1-A ball again, but we know that we still have to play our best to win out.”

Mason Finney will get the nod to start at quarterback for this week. Knapp and the rest of the team seem to be enjoying Finney’s maturation from a year ago.

“Mason has grown up a lot this past year,” Knapp said. “We feel good about him starting at quarterback. He cam in for us last year and started for us. He actually won us our first game. He has a great arm, man.”

“Mason has matured a lot from last year as well. When he’s asked to do things, he isn’t timid like he was last year; he does things with confidence. He has a strong arm and he is a tremendous athlete. We like what we see. The wideouts are excited to stretch the field a bit as well. I’m excited to see him compete”

So, what does that mean for senior transfer from Valdosta, Garrett Dowdy?

“We’re going to split Dowdy out wide,” Knapp said. “He is just so athletic and freaky fast. He can stretch the defense for us and catch some of those deep balls from Mason. He is one of the fastest guys o the team; we just have to get him in space. He has also done a terrific job for us at punter. We want to get him going at wideout and get the ball in his hands.”

With Dowdy and Finney being two different types of quarterbacks, one has to wonder if the game plan will change to accommodate that.

“Our game plan doesn’t change,” Knapp said. “We will use our style of offense, no matter who is in under center. We will establish the run, and we will also stretch the field a bit more, but otherwise, the game plan remains the same for us.”

“Mason being able to stretch the field will allow for us to open up the run game a bit more. That has been a focal point for us all year. We have had a good year running the ball with Dante (Sacco) and those other guys back there. We are a 50/50 team when it comes to running and passing. That won’t change.”

Going into the game, Knapp and the Generals will turn to their third different starting quarterback this fall.

Third time is the charm.

“We are just excited to finally play at home,” Knapp said. “It has been tough to have all of those games be away from home. This Friday, we’ll be able to play in front of friends and family. The travel distance will be the short walk to the field from the locker room. The players will have all of the family and friends there to support us. That is big time.”

“We have a few things that we need to improve on. The wideouts need to step up a bit more and catch the ball. The offensive line plays well; they have most of the year. We need our defense to step up big in this game and play all four quarters. They have two big tailbacks that we need to account for.”

Georgia Christian will take on Fullington at home this Friday. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm.