The Benjamin Russell Wildcats travel down Highway 280 to take on the Opelika Bulldogs in a key 6A Region 3 matchup. This will be both teams first region game of the season, while both teams come into the game undefeated.

Benjamin Russell (2-0) look to build off their win against Central of Clay County last week. "I thought last week we really competed hard compared to the first week," said Wildcats Head coach Danny Horn. "Were excited to have this opportunity to play a great football team."

When it comes to the offense, the Wildcats love to run the football but know that they will need to be a little more creative against this Bulldogs defense. "We will need to mix the offense up," added Horn. "Our break and butter is running the football, but we need to establish our run game to help in our passing game. This week its going to be a little more difficult so we need to mix it up a bit."

Running the ball for the Wildcats starts with their quarterback Tyre Gray. "Tyre is a winner and do whatever it takes to get the job done along just being at great kid," said Horn. "He is a yes sir, no sir and loves to play. He is fast, quick and gifted. When the play is on the line, he can make the big play and he is a joy to coach." Gray has 22 rushes for 309 yards with five touchdowns along with a whopping 14.0 yards per carry. The senior QB has completed 9-of-15 passing for 90 yards and two touchdowns.

At the running back position is NeColby Maxwell. "He is a hard runner, he played a little bit last year and had a great spring," said Horn. "He runs hard with good speed. He has to improve a little bit on picking his holes. If you run hard, you can make up for not picking up the right hole. I think as the year goes on he will improve in that area and get better and better. Maxwell has 31 rushes for 168 yards and two touchdowns with a 5.4 yards per carry average.

On defense, Benjamin Russell knows that stopping the Bulldogs offense is going to be a challenge. "They do a good job of mixing up the offense," added Horn. "We need to stop the run and prevent the big play in the passing game which is easier said then done. This will be a big key for us. Our corners will have to stay back a little bit more and stay on your man and make the tackle. This is a very talented team on both sides of the football."

Tae Robinson anchors the Wildcats defense at nose guard and will be key in stopping the Bulldogs run game. "He is a three-year starter and it a tweener with his height and weight on the defensive line," said Horn. "He is strong, aggressive and is our anchor for several years now."

AJ Russell returns at linebacker after being injured last season and has played well this season. Another defensive lineman is Trey Edwards who has a motor that just attacks the football. Senior Jacob Rogers will need to make some big plays in the secondary for the Wildcats tonight.

For Opelika (2-0) on offense, everything goes through junior Jake Bentley. "He is a special player for us," said Bulldogs Head coach Brian Blackmon. "Jake made a mistake late in the game, but he overcame it, battled back and it was a special drive for us."

Tanner Blatt, the X-factor for the Bulldogs, can do a little of everything while doing it very good. In his first game of the season, Blatt blocked a punt, returned a kickoff for a touchdown and caught a touchdown play while filling in at running back. "He is a do everything guy, a special kid," added Blackmon. "He is a safety for us some and can do a little bit of everything for us. The best part for us is he is a happy kid that loves the game. Loves to compete and a big play guy for us. We look forward every week just to see what he will do next."

Along with Blatt, James Moss is a big weapon in the passing game for the Bulldogs. Moss has the speed to break off a defender and make the big play at anytime. If the Bulldogs need a first down, Kyle Fourtenbary is your guy that can catch it and lower your shoulder on you to pickup key yards for a first down.

In the run game, Josh Johnson is the hammer. If you don't get a lot of defenders to him, he will just run through an opponent one on one. You have to get multiple tacklers to him to bring him down. Johnson leads the Bulldogs in rushing this season.

On defense, the Bulldogs have played two good offenses so far this season and know that they need to play a great game this week against Benjamin Russell. "When we had to make a play this season, we have," said Blackmon. "We came back after our game with Auburn and worked on a few things on defense to get better in a few areas."

Courtney Allen has played well from his defensive end position as a first-year starter for the Bulldogs. Junior linebacker Zach Yancey has elevated his game along with 15 tackles last week against Auburn. Zo Bridges has been solid at the other linebacker position.