Westlake’s two losses this season can be traced to two things: a bad week of practice before the Lions faced Class 5A Creekside in Week 3 (a 27-20 loss) and getting off to a poor start against eventual Region 4-6A champion Langston Hughes (a 31-24 loss).
Both of those issues appear to have been fixed. Westlake (9-2) won its fifth consecutive game, once again in blowout fashion, and will advance to the second round of the state playoffs sixth time in the last nine seasons after a 45-3 win over Effingham County (6-4), the No. 3 seed from Region 2.
“We’re close to being beyond those issues,” Westlake head coach Bobby May said. “But at the end of the day, they’re still kids. That’s where coaching comes into play. It’s up to us as coaches to make sure we keep them focused whenever we see there is a need for it.”
The Lions jumped out to a 38-0 lead by halftime and the entire second half was played with a running clock. Senior running back Zina Mulbah led the way with three touchdown runs, junior quarterback R. J. Johnson added a touchdown run, and junior defensive back Avieon Terrell returned an interception 50 yards for another score.
The 6-0, 205-pound Mulbah is half of the Westlake rushing tandem that has piled up more than 1,700 yards this season. The other half is junior Jai’den Thomas (5-9, 175). Even though there is just one ball to go around, one they have to share with Johnson, who has thrown for more than 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns, Mulbah and Thomas get along swimmingly.
May said usually the plan is to have Mulbah and Thomas alternate series and then go with the “hot hand” as the game goes on.
“They get along really well,” May said. “Jai’den has a lot of respect for Zina, and Zina is Jai’den’s biggest fan. They both realize you need two and sometimes three backs to be really successful as a team.”
The Lions’ offense has been explosive during their current six-game run, scoring a total of 238 points (47.6 points per game), but the defense has been dominant as well yielding a total of just 31 points (6 points per game). Terrell’s pick-six was the defensive highlight on Saturday.
Terrell, a junior, is the younger brother of Atlanta Falcon cornerback A.J. Terrell, a top draft pick who is making a name for himself as one of the best young players at his position.
Being compared to a budding NFL star can be distracting, even more so when that star happens to be your older brother whose number you wear at the same high school where he once played. But May said none of that is a factor for the Avieon.
“He’s a really good kid who works hard,” said May, who coached A.J. as well. “[Avieon] has a good family that has given him a really good foundation. He’s his own man and his own player who makes special plays for us.”
Westlake will be on the road for Round 2 at Region 6-6A champion Kennesaw Mountain (10-1), which defeated Lanier 49-21.
“For us it will start [Sunday] with meeting and looking at film,” May said. “Then Monday we’ll have an intense practice and make sure we stay locked in a focused.”
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