Troup Brinson MySwainsboroNews The Forest Blade
The Swainsboro Tigers trailed 28-0 at halftime and never posed a serious threat as they were beaten thoroughly in the season opener, 34-13.
It was just a strange night for Tiger Nation. Rarely have the black and gold been in a situation like this. First games can often times lack the sharpness and rhythm that teams develop into the season. They looked unsure and out of position. They over-pursued and left receivers wide open. They didn’t block well or tackle well. They just never seemed to be able to get out of their own way long enough to gain any type of momentum.
It seemed in the blink of an eye, Swainsboro was down big to a team that was not going to beat themselves and executed offensively and defensively on a level far above the Tigers. Nothing flashy happened. ECI just played better fundamental football and the Tigers looked like they were still in preseason mode.
“We just got too far behind too early,” said Tigers head coach David Johnson. “We had players at key positions make too many mistakes.”
For a running team like Swainsboro, large deficits pose a problem. It takes prolonged execution and extended drives to impose their will and break down another team. Those things just didn’t happen on Friday night.
ECI’s Wezley Ealey scored twice in the 1st quarter to set the tone. But it was the 37 yard touchdown pass with 7 seconds to go in the half over a confused defensive back that put the early nail into the coffin. Even down three touchdowns one felt that the Tigers had the fire power to right the ship in the second half. But four touchdowns slammed the door shut as fans looked on in disbelief.
Quan Gardner and Jemerico Bell never were able to get on track. Gardner had 52 yards rushing on 12 attempts and showed flashes of brilliance. But Bell couldn’t find any running lanes and netted only 10 yards on 6 attempts. New Tigers QB Shaquille Cowart likewise found the going tough with 22 yards on 7 carries. He did not complete a pass. Deantae Johnson broke off a 73 yard touchdown as time expired in the fourth quarter for his only carry. DeWan Somerville actually looked like the running back with the best idea of what he wanted to do and where he was going with 6 carries for 41 yards. But far too often, defenders were not blocked at the point of attach and rarely blocked on the second level to provide much space for Tiger runners.
Coach Johnson was ready to get back to the grindstone and put this game behind them as soon as the clock read zero.
“We need leaders to step up,” said Johnson. “The team knows that we have a lot of work to do, but we WILL get better.”
To be honest, the Tigers looked a little lost in the opener in 2010 as well. Many of the same mistakes and missteps seemed to abound as they struggled to find rhythm in the season opener. After all, a first game is just a starting point and it’s certainly not unusual to look discombobulated early in the season. But the Tigers leaned on senior QB Lynquez Blair last season to pull the game out. After that, things started to roll for the black and gold. Hopefully, senior QB Cowart can provide that leadership as the season progresses and be a dependable signal caller for the Tigers.
Swainsboro has no time to lick feel sorry for themselves as they have another big road test Friday night. Vidalia is a very good team coming off of a 42-0 thumping of Treutlen County and expects to be one of the top teams in region 2AA.
Around region 3AA, Jefferson County lost to AAA Washington County 28-17. Dublin beat Toombs County 50-16. Laney lost 24-16 to Strom Thurmond.
