South Georgia Football

The battle for region 1-AA supremacy played out on a muddy field in Fitzgerald Friday night. It was Maurice Freeman's Trojans who prevailed in a defensive struggle over Robbie Pruitt's Purple Hurricanes.

Let me start by saying I'm not a "trained" journalist. I'm just a fan who enjoys going to the football games and giving my perspective. I don't keep stats and don't really care what the stats were. I'd rather give you my perspective without the stats. Here is what I saw Friday night:

It was a battle of the mis-direction Wing T offense of Fitzgerald and the straight ahead power running game of Brooks County. On this night, it was the straight ahead power game that came out on top. Trojans' Junior Running Back Keith Christopher pounded the Fitzgerald defense all night long. This kid ran hard the entire football game and he was clearly the best player on the field.

However, it was a special teams play that was the difference in the football game. Brooks County Senior Punt Returner Rashad Rose fielded a Fitzgerald punt at his own 30 yard line in traffic. Rose headed up the middle of the field, made one cut to the left sidelines, and raced to the endzone. Christopher added the two point conversion on a mis-direction pitch around the left end and the Trojans gained a lead they would never relinquish, 14-7.

Fitzgerald deserves a lot of credit for the way they played in this ball game. They played most of the game without their best player at full strength as Georgia Tech commit Jemea Thomas is banged up. They played the entire game without their starting quarterback as Brad Taylor has mono and could be out a couple more weeks.

Freshman QB Kaleb Nobles played a solid football game and you can certainly see the potential he possesses.   However, it's tough for any Freshman QB to lead his team to victory vs. a team like Brooks County.

With all of that being said, there is no reason to take anything away from the Trojans from Quitman. They had their backs against the wall early and they responded. Coach Freeman said, "when you get hit in the mouth, you can do one of two things -- you can pack it up and quit or you can hit back. We hit back."    You sure did Coach. The Trojans were physical from the opening whistle. You could hear the pads popping all the way up in the stands. This is a football team that plays with a lot of emotion and determination. The kids have rallied around Coach Freeman and his coaches and it is a joy to see.

The Purple Hurricanes scored first in the second quarter on a 17 yard run by Junior FB Nick Williams. Let me say this about Williams -- He is a football player! The kid battled all night long and he never quit. The Trojans hit him and hit him hard. Williams would take the hits and hustle back to the huddle. It was a pleasure to see a kid play with such heart and determination. Well done Nick!

Brooks County got on the board with 36 seconds left in the first half as Christopher pounded it in from 4 yards out. The two point conversion was unsuccessful as Jemea Thomas knocked the Jeremy Cody pass out of bounds. Fitzgerald led 7-6 until the punt return in the 3rd quarter.

Both teams were able to move the ball pretty successfully in the second half but points were hard to come by. In the end, the Brooks County Trojans came to Fitzgerald with a purpose and they delivered. Congrats to the players, the fans, Coach Freeman, and his staff on a job well done.

Notes --

The field was wet and soggy but it stayed together pretty well for the amount of rain it received.

I feel blessed to be able to travel around South Georgia and enjoy South Georgia Football in different settings each week. The Fitzgerald and Brooks County fans were both very vocal and it was a wonderful setting!

You can search the entire country and you will not find two better people than Coach Robbie Pruitt and Coach Maurice Freeman. Quitman and Fitzgerald are blessed to have both of these individuals as members of their community.

Kudos to Brooks County for going on the road in a tough environment and coming away with a Victory!

As a South Georgia Football fan, it will be awesome to watch these two teams matriculate their way through the playoffs!

One quick note -- to the fan that was yelling at Coach Pruitt and trying to tell him how to Coach -- sssshhhhhh :) I think he knows what he's doing.

Until next week -- Mike Davis