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The Sylvania Times
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - Page 11
SPORTS
“Winning isn’t everything-but wanting to win is.” — Vince Lombardi
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With an extra day to smooth their feathers after a
44-0 Thursday night loss to homestanding Metter’s
Tigers in the Class A Region 3 Di championship,
the Screven County gridiron Gamecocks of Head
Coach Ron Duncan will host the 4-A Di third seeded
Crawford County Eagles this Friday in the first round
of the GHSA Class A Distate playoffs. The game
will represent the first state playoff game at Kelly
Memorial Stadium since November 24, 2017 and a
quarterfinal loss to Rabun County. Kickoff is slated
for 7:30 and the Roosters will have on the line a ten
game unbeaten streak in first round games at the
local stadium under the current 32-team playoff
format.
Coming in at 8-0 last week in the title tilt in
Metter’s home stadium dubbed The Jungle, the
Gamecocks hoped to pull the upset against the highly
favored and three time defending region champions.
It did not materialize. After an exchange of punts
to open the game Metter scored on their next six
possessions to lead 44-0 at third quarters’ end.
Included within their
drives were seven plays of 20 yards or longer. On
the night the Roosters were held to 95 total yards
with their deepest penetration being the Metter 37.
Against the Dirty Bird defense, which had allowed
32 points in their first eight games, the MHS Wing-T
had 415 yards rushing and 473 total yards.
In contrast to Metter, the Region 4-A Di third
seeded Crawford County will come into Sylvania with
a 3-7 record but fresh from a stunning 39-28 win over
Miyon Fulcher (21) and Luke Bohannon (12) try to
bring down a Metter runner (photo by PJ Richards)
40-point favorite Temple last Friday in what was a
battle for third place. Crawford, which hails from
Roberta though the county seat is Knoxville, does not
bring a storied history to town, at least not in the 21
st century.
Their glory years were 1994-98 when they won their
lone region championship (1996) and played in a pair
of Class A semifinals but there has been just one state
playoff game since 1998.
A fourth seed from Region 7A a season ago (and
loss to Macon County) ended a 23 year playoff gap.
The Eagles’ season opened with four straight losses
to ACE, Taylor County, Wilkinson County, and
Central Fellowship Christian Academy of Macon as
they gave up 192 points in those games. Their two
nonregion wins followed over GSIC (0-10) 60-0
and Twiggs County (2-8) 44-20. After a 41-22 loss
to region foe Heard County, they fell to Brookstone
48-21 in a non region contest and then 4A champion
Lamar County 36-14. There is the common opponent
in GSIC which cannot be used as an indicator of
anything. Friday the Maxwell computer made
them 40 point underdogs in their Friday matchup
with Temple (4-6) that was for third place.
CCHS showed just how meaningless the prediction
was. For nine games Crawford’s offensive success
started and ended with 6-4, 210 senior quarterback
Judd Pinckney who has passed for over 1,500 yards.
Through their first nine games the Eagles had rushed
for fewer (1,347) yards than SCHS (1,433) and their
leading rusher Terrel Ashley had 674. They run from
TaCorey Grant tries to wrestle the ball away
from Metter fullback Antwan Coney (photo by PJ
Richards)
a spread offense. Last Friday Head Coach Craig
Puckett added a wrinkle that early on Temple was
unable to stop. He took leading rusher/receiver (34-
604) Ashley, put him in the “wildcat” formation, and
ran him nine straight times on the opening drive.
The Dirty Birds will have to stop this new wrinkle.
By night’s end the Eagles totaled better than 400
total yards, well over 200 on the ground. Defensively
CCHS runs from a four man front most of the time.
With the regular season done for SCHS, freshman
Andre Michaud leads the team in carries and rushing
with 96-576 (6.0) and seven scores. Miyon Fulcher
(48-193), Jake Pollock (35-141), Justin Smith (36-
133) and Dalton Kay (25-125) are other rushers over
100. Pollock is 43-76-4 for 667 yards and six TDs.
TaCorey Grant (18-212) and Dylaun Adams (17-
394) are the leading receivers. Defensively Adam
Lingerfelt is the leading tackier, being in on 57 (18-39
with 5 tfl)). Other leaders are Vasquez Lonon (17-33
with 6.5 tfl), Smith (17-30), Michaud (17- 26 with
11 tfl), Jemiah Stewart (11-20 with 6 tfl), and Miyon
Fulcher (13-18 with 10 tfl).
Quarterback Jake Pollock carries the ball in action
in Thursday's Region 3-A championship game (photo
by PJ Richards)
AROUND THE HORN
If you have been out and
about the universe trying to
negotiate a trade deal with
some high level Ferengi dealer
and just got back in town,
then you may not know that
the Screven County football
Gamecocks host a first round
state playoff game against
Crawford County this Friday.
Now you know. Do you also
know that the Roosters have
been very successful in first
round matchups at Kelly
Memorial Stadium? Hopefully
that bodes well for this week.
How about some state
playoff history from Kelly
Memorial Stadium? Under
the current format of 32 teams
into the playoffs, which began
in 1996, we have made the
playoffs 19 times including
this Friday. Of those 19 trips,
this will be the 11 th first
round game in Sylvania.
We are 10-0 in the first ten
home games. Only two of the
previous games have been as
a number two seed (2003 and
2015). We have beaten Dodge
County and Jefferson County
twice each and boast one win
each over Jackson, Bacon
County, Monticello, Bryan
County, Toombs County, and
Washington County. All
but Jackson and Monticello
have been in our region at
some point in my adult life.
Crawford County will add to
that short list of totally new
faces in Sylvania for the first
round. On the other side of
the coin, unfortunately we are
1-7 in first round games on the
road.
The one win came in the first
year of this format and that
was the 56-42 win in Eastman
KELLY MEMORIAL STADIUM HAS
BEEN REALLY GOOD FOR EARLY
ROUND STATE PLAYOFFS
Burton
Kemp
over Dodge County. We were
a number three seed then as
we were in 2007. For the other
six we were a number four.
So you know, there is a pretty
good chance that we will not
be able to make a regular
broadcast of the game Friday
night on our Gamecocktv.
As of lunchtime on Monday,
there will definitely be an
audio-only broadcast. It will
be on YouTube like normal,
just no picture. Once you hit
the playoffs if any school
involved in a playoff contest
is a member of the National
Federation of High Schools
Broadcast Network that
school “has exclusive rights
to any state playoff event it
wishes to put on its network.”
Why are we not a member? To
watch a game an individual
must have a subscription.
That subscription is $11.99
per month or $79.99 per year.
As of yet we are not
comfortable forcing folks to
pay that in order to watch the
Gamecocks.
Gamecocktv is free.
Sometimes I think that folks
forget that. Get to the game
Friday.
The unbeaten ranks went
from 22 to 19 at regular
season’s end. Troup, Lambert,
and Screven County fell
from those ranks. Among the
preseason favorites (by the
GHSFD) to go undefeated
who did were Cedartown,
Colquitt County, Prince
Avenue Christian, Darlington,
and North Oconee. There were
the only five who entered with
a better than 90% chance. The
team with the least chance
was Thomas County Central
(5.1%). Remember we had a
3.7% chance.
Swainsboro, number two
ranked, had a 13.2 % chance.
Worthy of notice is that last
Friday night’s game in the
Pecan Grove was scheduled
to be the last football game
there. It has been the home
of the Claxton Tigers for
76 years. As a historian it is
an awesome place. It is like
taking a step back in time. You
can feel the history.
Football when not everyone
wore a helmet. When they
had a helmet it certainly did
not have a face mask. My
dad played there when it was
brand new in 1946. As a radio
guy, web cast guy, a coach,
a camera guy, a visiting fan,
and most anything else, the
stadium is horrible. According
to Claxton officials, their flag
football and soccer teams will
continue to play there.
The 3-Av. 4-A playoffs did
not evolve into the GHSFD
predictions when Crawford
County beat Temple. It is
Metter (44-0 over SCHS)
hosting Temple (39-28 losers
to Crawford) and SCHS
hosting Crawford. 4-A
champion Lamar County
(42-0 over Heard County)
will host Claxton (40-19
losers to Bryan County) and
Heard County hosting Bryan
County. I mentioned Jeffco
last week and their playoff
chances. In double overtime
they beat East Laurens 47-41.
The continued their playoff
streak that dates to 2002.
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