About The Sylvania times. (Sylvania, Ga.) 2022-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2022)
thesy lvaniatimes .com The Sylvania Times Wednesday, August 31, 2022 - Page 11 GAMECOCKS HOLD OFF BACON COUNTY IN THE RAIN 7-6 Catapulted by a Dirty Bird defense that made four fourth down stops, two on fourth and one, the Screven County Gamecocks of Head Coach Ron Duncan held off the homestanding Bacon County Raiders 7-6 in the rain in Alma last Friday night. The game started well over an hour late due to inclement weather and was played in a steady downpour throughout. SCHS will host AA Westside on Friday while Bacon County will travel to Adel to face Berrien County. The Gamecocks are 2-0 for the first times since 2019. SCHS scored early in the second quarter on a two yard run by Justin Smith following a 75 yard interception return by Dylaun Adams and then held off two BCHS rally attempts in the fourth quarter. They held on fourth and a half yard with 7:05 remaining and then on fourth and two with just :39 remaining. The Raiders scored in the third quarter following a fumbled punt by the Gamecocks. Of special note is that the former stop in the fourth quarter came at the Dirty Birds’ four yard line. The opening stanza was a virtual standoff with each team completing two possessions and each team punting twice. Homestanding Bacon recorded a pair of first downs in the quarter; SCHS one. After yet another SCHS punt early in the second quarter a 15 yard Raider run put them into Gamecock territory for the first time. Going for broke BCHS went deep with Adams picking it off at the 23 and turning it 75 yards to the two yard line. Smith took it in with 9:50 showing. Jeremiah Stuart’s most important point barely made it over the cross bar but it counted as if it had gone over the concession stand. A long kickoff return allowed Bacon to start their next possession at the Screven 24. Following a holding penalty the defense forced a turnover on downs. Another Jake Pollock punt pinned BCHS down at their own eight but a 40 run enabled the Raiders to cross midfield again. With just :28 remaining in the half the SCHS defense held Bacon at their 43 on fourth and one. The second half saw the punts continue until the Gamecocks fumbled one with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter. BCHS took advantage and scored on an 18 yard run by Jo Jo Brown at the 1:04 mark but a very high snap ended any chance of a PAT to tie the Freshman Andre Michaud uses both hands on the wet ball in Friday’s 7-6 road win over Bacon County (photo by PJ Richards). game. Taking yet another Pollock punt one minute into the final stanza the Raiders marched down the field reaching the SCHS seven yard line second and two. The drive ended when Andre Michaud tackled the runner for a one yard loss on fourth down. Bacon got one more chance when the Gamecocks fumbled with just 5:10 remaining giving the Raiders the ball at their own 39. A pair of third down conversions later and the home team was inside the SCHS 30 but on fourth and two from the 26 an incomplete pass with :39 remaining gave the Roosters their second win of the season. Leading the stellar defense effort were Dalton Kay and Michaud who were in on 12 tackles respectively. V a s q u e z Lonon was in on seven and JaMarcus Badger and Miyon Fulcher six each. The Dirty Birds bent at times, allowing 200 yards on the ground on 43 attempts but just 49 passing. They were tough when they had to be. Offensively SCHS netted Above: Cheerleaders and football players meet in the middle of the field at Bacon County High with the 7-6 score in favor of the visiting Gamecocks showing (photo by PJ Richards) but 133 total yards, 79 on the ground. Michaud had nine carries for 35 yards and Justin Smith had eight carries for 28 yards. Pollock threw for 54 yards including a key 49 yarder to Adams in the fourth quarter. Above: Justin Smith (10) heads into the end zone behind blocks by guard Ed Lee (76) and fullback Miyon Fulcher (21). The score, from two yards out, was the only of the night for SCHS but combined with Jeremiah Stuart's PAT was enough (photo by PJ Richards) Around the horn THE VIEW FROM THE ROOF FRIDAY NIGHT WAS ONE FOR THE AGES Burton Kemp As I begin, remember the most important thing about last Friday night is that the good guys wearing the Red and White held on for a win. That is the most significant thing that will ever be recorded about August 26, 2022 and the Screven County High School football program. The Dirty Bird defense stepped up big and made one, two-yard touchdown drive and one PAT stand up. This is the ninth 7-6 win in SCHS history. The first game ever played under the banner of Screven County High School was a 7-6 win over Metter on September 22, 1950.1 played in two 7-6 Gamecock victories - Benedictine on October 6, 1972 and Westside on November 1, 1974. All of those wins are recorded, pretty much nothing else. What I will always remember about last Friday is the view from the roof. In a lot of years with the SCHS football program I have been part of a lot of things. I have been part of some broadcast team doing either color or play by play every week (except October 25, 2002) since the late Ted Byrne and I first teamed up in 1996.1 have broadcast from roofs and stands and press boxes. You might say that I have broadcast from the proverbial outhouse to the penthouse that was the Georgia Dome. I have broadcast with bullet holes in the window behind me (Josey). I have broadcast from the stands because, except for the official’s window, all windows in the press box were painted over and nailed shut (Josey again). There were many interesting stories that came from games in Richmond County including the National Anthem sung by Tutu D’vyne before yet another Josey game. They make for great stories. Generally, however, wherever we went there was a press box and generally they were all fun in some way. I will say that rain and lightning might have changed any fun though. With our drop to Class A in 2020 I figured things would change, most likely not for the better. I was right. We were in the stands amongst the Claxton fans in the pecan trees in Claxtons’ Pecan Grove two years ago. It was cold and we were too low for any kind of accurate commentary. It was the last game of the year, we were not going anywhere, and many of our players had “packed it up.” Because of those things, it was little more than an annoyance because there is an air of history in the Pecan Grove (Bell Memorial Stadium) that makes it more bearable. My father played there in 1945. Last year we were in the stands at ECI. There is no excuse for their facilities considering their success over the years. Then there was the outside broadcast at the mammoth stadium at McIntosh County Academy last year. Alex Collins was getting electricity from an “outlet” on a light pole to get us on the air and the sand gnats and mosquitoes were unreal. I called that the worst conditions ever. Then there was last week and the worst conditions in which I have ever broadcast (a terrible job at it too). I do give a disclaimer. The Alma folks in the brand new but small press box were quite apologetic about the facilities and were very, very cordial. They had absolutely nothing to do with the situation that arose. Because of them, I almost feel guilty about my complaints. Anyway, at a school with otherwise unbelievable facilities (how about all those chair back seats in the booster section and the scoreboard) we were on a very small roof, we were behind the stadium lights and in the dark, there was the smell of the dog food plant (the smell of money and jobs) very near the school and the retention pond directly behind the stands, at times there were mosquitoes, there were the three sets of mammoth speakers all around us, and then there was the rain that fell on us from start to finish. Maybe the worst was actually the dark. A cell phone light was necessary to see anything written. There was the lack of a video in the second half. The camera, not really of the all weather variety, was possibly destroyed from being rained on for better than two hours to that point. It was a chance for father-daughter (both of them) bonding. It is all just a memory now and nothing is recorded. Yes the game is still on line for now. As for interesting nights, I cannot leave out the night in 1993, before I was full time, when Mac Mahaffey and I were on a rooftop at Wilkinson County (the only 7-6 road victoryever) and we had to cut our postgame short because of the rocks being hurled in our direction. I mentioned that one in a column when Mac died. See you from the press box at Kelly Memorial Stadium this Friday. SdWI Ita If Iks Mfcife W® Childrens Consignment Shop NOW OPEN!
