Wednesday, September 12, 2001
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Wednesday, September 12, 2001 |
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Big games in second full week of football season
By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
Fayette County High School traveled down the road on Friday night to face Starr's Mill High School, which handed the Tigers a big loss in their first meeting last year. The Tigers, with revenge on their mind, struck first this past Friday when Matt Owens threw a 45 yard pass to T. J. Brandenburg. Up until that point, both defenses did a great job of putting pressure on the quarterbacks and corralling the offense. After the first quarter, the Tigers led 7-0. Starr's Mill drove deep into Tiger territory in the second quarter but got pushed back due to some penalties. Jon Vickers came on the field and kicked a 35 yard field goal to narrow the score to 7-3. After penalties for both teams on their next possession, Fayette County recovered a Starr's Mill fumble and had John Deraney kick a 41 yard field goal for a 10-3 lead at the half. Starr's Mill started with the ball in the third quarter and gave it right back after an interception by Donovan Brown. Starr's Mill eventually got the ball back and got a big run from Recarta Heard, who ran 72 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers Johnny Edwards intercepted the ball which set up another touchdown after Heard ran 29 yards and then scored off of a 4 yard run. He finished with 168 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The Panthers led 17-10 until Steven West tied the game with an 18 yard touchdown run. Starr's Mill tried their hardest to win the game in regulation but settled for going to overtime when they were stuck in their own end of the field. Overtime lasts for two periods of five minutes, regardless of score. If neither team scores, the team that penetrated into their opponent's zone the furthest wins. Starr's Mill kicked to Fayette County and pinned them in their own end of the field. After the Tigers punted, the Panthers drove it to the Tigers 21 yard line before the first overtime period expired. Starr's Mill kicked to the Tigers again in the second overtime period. Jason Earwood sacked Tiger quarterback Jeff Crisp and then intercepted the ball on the next play. Earwood, who had taken over quarterback duties at the end of the fourth quarter after Patrick Mullinix went down with a concussion, set up a three yard touchdown run by Chris Strauch. Strauch had 107 yards rushing and the touchdown. The Panthers produced 418 yards of offense and held Fayette County to 182 yards of offense. Jason Earwood led the defense with nine tackles, an interception and three sacks, while Darryl Burston had 11 pressures on the quarterback and three sacks. Jake Jones and Andrew Bashakes were the leading tacklers for the team and Erik Advincula played a solid inside game for Starr's Mill. The Tigers defense was led by Brian Moore, who had eight tackles and six assists and Ade Osilaja who had six tackles and five assists. Starr's Mill won 23-17 and improved their record to 1-1. The Panthers will travel to Newnan this Friday to take on the Cougars, while Fayette County will host Evans. Newnan (2-0) has outscored their opponents 88-33 so far this year and return several key starters from alst year's squad. Evans went to the playoffs last year and should be a contender again this year, playing hardnose football. Our Lady of Mercy improved to 2-1 with a 12-3 win over the St. Pius junior varsity squad last Thursday. The Bobcats are playing a mixed schedule of varsity and non-varsity games this season and St. pius proved to be a formidable foe. The Bobcats struck first with a 20 yard touchdown run from Jeff Smith. Smith had eight carries for 40 yards on the day. St. Pius recovered an Our Lady of Mercy fumble towards the end of the first half and kicked a 25 yard field goal to make the score 6-3. The score stayed at 6-3 in the second half until Sam Etuk ran for a 60 yard touchdown run. Etuk finished with 80 yards off of 10 carries. The Bobcats defense stepped up in the game as well, preventing St. Pius from scoring on a fourth and goal situation in the fourth quarter. Outstanding performances on the defense came from Greg Spencer, John Fink, Alex Hooper and Matt Gill. The Bobcats will host Blessed Trinity Catholic High School on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Sandy Creek fell to 0-2 on the season after losing to third ranked Oconee County, 17-6. The Patriots continued to have a hard time putting together an offensive attack. They had a total of 80 yards of offense, 40 of which came from Kelvin German. The defense gave up a total of 326 yards and limited Oconee County to three points in the second half. Will Judson ran back a 95 yard punt return for the Sandy Creek points. The Patriots will have their home opener on Friday as they take on Pickens. The Landmark Christian War Eagles improved to 2-0 with a 34-0 win over Madison Aacdemy, Ala. Sean Hill had 26 rushes for 173 yards and three touchdowns, while Dylan Hanes had 20 rushes for 129 yards and two touchdowns. The defense only allowed 58 yards of offense. The War Eagles will host Athens Academy on Friday. Pace Christian will host Fayette Christian for their homecoming game this Friday at McCurry Park at 7:30 p.m. McIntosh, (0-1), had a bye last week. They will host Morrow at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. |
