Commerce football tested, ready for playoffs

COMMERCE -- A quick glance at Commerce’s 6-4 record, and you might think the Tigers were one of the weaker No. 2 playoff seeds in all of Class A.

But you’d be wrong.

True, the Tigers did drop four games this season, but all four losses came against playoff teams -- three of which are now region champions, each ranked in the top 10: No. 4 Jefferson (Region 8-AA), No. 3 Lincoln County (7-A) and No. 1 Wesleyan (8-A). The fourth loss also came against Class AAA playoff team Franklin County (8-AAA).

Those defeats -- most of them close (only defending Class A champ Wesleyan pulled away at 28-3, and that’s the closest result on the Wolves schedule so far this year) -- have made Commerce one of the most battle-tested programs in Class A and shown the Tigers just what it takes to win against top competition.

Now they hope to put those lessons to good use in the first round of the Class A playoffs on Friday against Landmark Christian (6-4) in Commerce.

“I think our football team has played pretty good all year long, even though we finished 6-4,” Tigers coach Steve Savage said. “We were in all those four losses. But we play them because they’re fun to play. We enjoy doing that. Playing tough competition, you’ll find out what you can’t do a whole lot faster than what you can do.”

Landmark will be a lot more worried about the latter, especially on offense, where the Tigers multiple option attack has racked up 2,475 yards rushing so far along with 623 yards passing. Commerce is also averaging 25.5 points per game and seems to be elevating at just the right time, scoring 116 points in its last three contests.

The cornerstone for much of that success has been the play of running back Deon Brock.

The speedy senior has rushed for 1,415 yards and 18 touchdowns so far, as well as hauling in 8 catches for 66 yards and 2 TDs. He has shown both the ability to be a breakaway threat and a workhorse, carrying the ball 131 times and ripping off numerous long scoring runs, including a 96-yard jaunt in a 28-7 win over Athens Academy on Oct. 2 -- the second longest in school history, behind a 97-yard scoring run by Monte Williams, who rushed for a state record 8,844 yards during his four years at Commerce (1997-2000). Brock finished with 256 yards on 16 carries and four touchdowns in the win over Athens Academy (the third seed from Region 8-A). And last week he had 12 carries for 200 yards in a 33-7 win over Prince Avenue.

“Deon’s had a really good year, running the ball and playing defense too,” Savage said. “I can’t say it was a surprise.”

Brock was also a focal point of Commerce’s offense last season, though his abilities have been aided this campaign by a senior-laden offensive line that returned four starters -- Joe Sanders, Mason Westmoreland, Jake Hill, and Tyler Austin -- and by the emergence of sophomore quarterback Cody Streetman.

“Right now we are able to run the ball much better than I thought we might be able to, and we’re getting to where we can throw the ball,” Savage said.

Streetman has come on strong as the season progressed, passing for 623 yards and 6 TDs to just one interception. He’s also been a threat on the ground of late, rushing for 334 yards and 7 scores -- his entire rushing total for the season -- in the last five games.

“Cody has really come along,” Savage said. “He still pulls some 10th grade stuff every once in a while, but he doesn’t panic. He reads right most of the time, and he’s pretty accurate when he throws.”

Carl Allen is the Tigers leading receiver this season.

Yet Cody isn’t the only Streetman to come up big this year in Commerce, and his older brother Josh has been just as important on both defense and special teams.

Josh Streetman leads the Tigers defense, which is allowing just over 15 points per contest, with 99 tackles, as well as handling both placekicking and punting duties.

“At the beginning of the year, we didn’t have a kicker, and Josh couldn’t really kick either,” Savage said. “He was having trouble getting it off the tee, but now he’s very reliable.”

John Swistak is second on the team with 77 tackles.

The Tigers defense knows it faces a challenge this weekend against a sizable and physical Landmark Christian offense that is averaging 31.1 points per game.

“Landmark has good size and good receivers that can run really well,” Savage said. “They average over 250 pounds on the line of scrimmage, and they’ve got a 220-pound tailback. They’ll be a formidable opponent.”

The War Eagles are used to the postseason under coach Kenny Dallas, who has led Landmark to the playoffs in each of his nine years at the Fairburn school, winning the Region 5-A six straight seasons, 2002-07.

Yet Savage and the Tigers know a thing or two about the playoffs themselves, having reached the postseason 13 straight seasons (winning a state title in 2000), and both players and coach are excited about hosting a state tournament contest for the first time in two years.

“It beats getting on that yellow bus and going somewhere, I can tell you that,” Savage said. “It feels good for us. I hope our players are excited, but I also hope they’re just getting ready like they do every other week.”

For the Tigers, every other week this season has been pretty darn good.