By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

HOGANSVILLE – It’s break time for the Callaway Cavaliers.

After opening the regular season with a 26-0 victory over LaGrange on Friday, Callaway is off this week.

It is the first of two off weeks for Callaway, which will be back in action on Sept. 1 against Handley, which won a state championship in Alabama last year.

Callaway has had two off weeks over the past few years, and it’s something head coach Pete Wiggins feels is valuable.

“I think you can use that for preparation, you can deal with injuries from the preseason, and from the scrimmage and from game one,” Wiggins said. “I think it’s been good to us. And getting another off week before you start region is important for the same reasons. You can heal up some wounds, and watch film and prepare for region.”

Callaway, which is ranked third in Class AA in this week’s Associated Press poll, is coming off an impressive performance against LaGrange, although Wiggins said there is room for improvement.

“We had penalties, we had three turnovers in the game that we’ve got to correct,” Wiggins said. “But I was proud of our kids’ effort. We played hard, but we have a lot of things we need to improve on to get where we need to be. It’s always let’s make progress each day, and let’s come out and work hard, and that’s our goal.”

A year ago, Callaway traveled to Handley for a Week 2 game, and it was a classic.

Callaway trailed heading into the fourth quarter, but it outscored Handley 21-0 in the final 12 minutes to win going away.

That win only grew in stature as Handley rolled to a Class AAAA state championship in Alabama, while Callaway finished 13-1 and made it to the semifinals in Class AA.

“It’s one of the most memorable games I’ve been a part of,” Wiggins said. “I thought that game was a big part of our success. Our kids see that we can overcome adversity.”

It figures to be another epic showdown this year between two teams with state-championship aspirations.

“Coach Larry Strain does a great job, and they’ve got a lot of tradition, so we know it’ll be a tough ballgame,” Wiggins said. “They play extremely hard.