The Swainsboro Tigers dropped their first game of the season, 14-7, to the Worth County Rams in a game that came down to the final seconds. QB Deantae Johnson’s 30 yard strike to WR Jemerico Bell with less than a minute to play settled into and then bounced out of his hands near the 10 yard line. With that incompletion, Swainsboro’s fate was sealed as the Tigers opened the seasons in frustrating fashion.

 

“It was just a very frustrating night offensively,” said head coach David Johnson. “So many blown opportunities.”

All of the scoring took place in the first half. Worth County capitalized on two drives, scoring on a 4 yard touchdown run and on a 2 yard touchdown run. The Tigers put their lone touchdown on the board just seconds after the Rams scored in the first quarter with a 90 yard kickoff return, courtesy of Rico Johnson.

 

The Tigers struggled to mount a consistent offense as the Worth County defense held the running game in check. Swainsboro drove the ball inside the Ram’s 15 yard line late in the 2nd quarter, but time expired to end the drive. The Ram’s moved the ball effectively in the first two quarters, but the Tigers clamped down in the second half to give themselves and opportunity to win the game. Swainsboro defensive back Dylan Poole recovered a fumble in the 3rd quarter to give the Tigers an excellent scoring opportunity inside the Ram 40 yard line. Bell and Deantae Johnson powered the drive and a 20 yard pass to Jarvis Moore kept the chains moving. The drive reached the 7 yard line before a holding penalty and a dropped pass inside the 5 yard line derailed the promising possession.

 

Worth County missed a medium range field goal in the 4th quarter to keep the Tigers in striking distance but more dropped passes and inopportune penalties were too much for the Tigers to overcome in the end.

“We just have to continue working hard on a daily basis,” commented head coach David Johnson. “We work on ball-handling drills during fundamental time and throw the ball on a daily basis.”

 

Jemerico Bell led the way for Tiger ball carriers with 50 yards on 11 carries. Deantae Johnson was 4-11 for 35 yards passing as Swainsboro accumulated 147 yards of total offense. The Tiger’s defense surrendered 157 rushing yards and 87 passing yards, mostly during the first half of play.

 

“I really feel that when these things get cleaned up, we are going to have a very good football team,” said Johnson. “I have tremendous faith in the heart of these young men, and I know that if they will just relax, and believe in themselves, it is going to happen.”

 

Swainsboro will put an open week in the schedule to good use as their next game is a home contest against Grovetown on September 7.