Falcons Back In Flight
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Falcons rebounded after a Week 1 loss. They beat division rival Carolina 31-24 in a very competitive game.
Matt Ryan finished 23 of 28 passing for 272 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in a performance that took some of the heat off offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
Matty Ice also channeled his inner Mike Vick on a touchdown run in the third quarter. Looking to throw on third-and-5 from the Carolina 8, he spotted a running lane to the left and took off.
“I didn’t want to slide in that situation or go down because you don’t know where you’re going to be marked,” he said. “I felt something below my feet, and just went up the best I could. It was a good decision.”
Eight players caught passes. Six ran the ball including Tevin Coleman, who gained 107 yards on 16 carries filling in for injured Devonta Freeman. Rookie Ito Smith also played well adding 46 yards on 9 carries.
The Falcons resembled the high-scoring team that made it all the way to the Super Bowl two seasons ago with Kyle Shanahan as the coordinator.
Tight end Austin Hooper had five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Calvin Ridley scored his first NFL touchdown and had for receptions for 64 yards. Julio also hauled in five catches for 64 yards.
Atlanta has one of the most talented offenses in pro football. It is head scratching that they played so poorly in the season opener. It’s especially interesting considering Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for over 400 yards and 4 touchdowns against that same Eagles defense.
The Falcons are happy to get the win but I still see some red flags. The total yards were almost even with Carolina gaining 439 and Atlanta with 442. Each team also had one turnover.
The defense is dealing with injuries, missing two Pro Bowlers. Safety Keanu Neal tore his ACL in the first game and he will miss the rest of the season. Linebacker Deion Jones was also placed on injured reserve after the Philly game with a foot injury.
“We are bummed for Deion but we do expect to get him back at some point this season. He represents all that we are looking for in a Falcon player, and while he will not be on the field for us right now, he will continue to have a presence in our building,” coach Dan Quinn said in a statement.
Second year linebacker Duke Riley is filling in and he has not played well since joining the NFL. The team is hoping he can make drastic improvements this season.
Cam Newton is known more for being an athletic quarterback and less for his accuracy but he had a good day through the air. He passed for 335 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 pick. He also took a cheap shot from safety Damontae Kazee who was thrown out of the game for the helmet-to-helmet hit while the Panthers quarterback was sliding at the end of a run.
The Falcons should feel good going into the Week 3 home game against New Orleans. The Saints needed a last second field goal to win against the lowly Browns. The week before they gave up 48 points to Tampa Bay.
I expect this to be a high scoring shoot-out. It will come down to the defense to make a critical stop.
The Wrong Kind Of Buzz
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I applauded Georgia Tech a few months ago when they decided to extend Paul Johnson’s contract.
In a profession where the people making these decisions tend to suffer from long term memory loss, it was refreshing to see a program reward their coach for his overall body of work and not just the past twelve months.
I admit it’s easy for me to say that based on the fact I’m not a Georgia Tech fan. If I were a fan, I’m sure my feelings would be quite different.
After the Yellow Jackets slow start to the season it would be easy, if not a bit premature, to write about whether or not Johnson needs to keep his job.
So, I’m going to do my best not to get too deep down that rabbit hole; besides, those articles have already started.
To me the more interesting question isn’t whether or not Johnson should be fired if this season continues on its current downward slope, but what direction will athletic director Todd Stansbury go, if it does.
When Johnson’s contract was extended after two losing seasons within the last three years, it gave off the impression there was a confidence that he would be able to turn things around.
Or at the very least, Johnson would be given time to turn things around, since his extension goes through 2022. You don’t give a coach who still has three years left on his contract an additional two years if you’re contemplating firing him after one season.
If you look at Tech’s first few games this season, along with how their future opponents have fared up to this point, you can see a scenario play out where they win only 4-5 games this season.
Georgia Tech isn’t exactly considered a powerhouse in college football but I also don’t see their fans and alumni being ok with three losing seasons sandwiched around one 9-4 year.
I imagine if that scenario were to come to fruition there would be a loud majority calling for Johnson’s job.
Would the outside pressure cause Stansbury to make a change or would he stand his ground and continue to have Johnson’s back?
One thing that has the potential to be a big factor revolves around Johnson’s buyout. If I’m not mistaken, it would “only” cost Georgia Tech about $4 million if they were to fire Johnson.
I know that amount of money isn’t chump change but in relation to what it costs most Power 5 schools to fire their head coach, $4 million certainly isn’t a deterrent.
As I stated earlier I’m not here to debate whether or not Johnson should lose his job if the remainder of the season mirrors what has taken place so far.
There are a lot of things that would need to be taken into consideration; actual win/loss record, how did the team play, were they competitive in most games.
It’s intriguing though to see how all this could possibly play out. Johnson has been one of the winningest coaches in Georgia Tech history and seems to have a substantial amount of support within the program.
Could another bad season negate all that good will and confidence or will he be able to maneuver through it for yet another year?
Of course, the Yellow Jackets could reel off a bunch of wins and finish the season 9-4, completely rendering this entire situation a moot point.
Outside of Paul Johnson there may not be a single person hoping that takes place more than Todd Stansbury.
Acuna Matata
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Braves fans were already chomping at the bit for Ronald Acuna, Jr. to be awarded the NL Rookie of the Year award all the way back in February. As the league’s top prospect, he seemed a safe bet for the award.
A late debut wouldn’t make much of a difference but missing nearly a month to injury and a good, but not stellar initial run in the lineup threatened to derail those plans. Not to mention the emergence of Juan Soto as a legit contender for the award.
Acuna’s return and subsequent move to the leadoff spot has put him firmly in the running once again. The two young phenoms’ numbers are incredibly similar and it looks to be a tight race for the trophy.
But I think Acuna could aim a little higher. As in, Ronald Acuna, Jr.: National League Most Valuable Player.
ROTY tends to be handed to whichever player puts up better pure numbers. The MVP award tends to fluctuate on that point, sometimes going to players with higher slash lines, sometimes going to players who lead a team to the postseason.
What the appropriate criteria should be is a debate for another time. What tends to be the case when an MVP is awarded to a player on a last place team is that their numbers are so gaudy or historical that they are worthy of merit (A-Rod’s MVP while he was on last-place Texas Rangers team, for example).
The NL features no such player in 2018. No one has run away with the award and in fact there could be as many as five or six players worthy of the trophy come season’s end. And one of them, arguably the most deserving, is Ronald Acuna.
Since taking over the leadoff spot in the batting order, Acuna has been on an incredible tear and has been a huge part of solidifying the Braves’ spot at the top of the NL East.
The Braves briefly dropped out of first place over the summer but Acuna heated up and has been the sparkplug that has the Braves on the cusp on an NL East Title.
He’s hovering around .300 and could very reasonably reach 30 homeruns by the time the season comes to a close. He will have barely played in over 100 games.
To that point, his OPS would be tied for best in the National League, except he doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify.
So regardless of slash line, counting stats (RBIs is a notable deficiency), or impact on a team’s postseason aspirations, Ronald Acuna, Jr. has an incredibly strong case for National League Rookie of the Year AND Most Valuable Player.
There’s precedent too: Ichiro pulled off the trick in 2001, so writers are willing to throw votes at a rookie (Ichiro’s standing as a true rookie was, of course, debatable).
Will it happen? If Acuna can get and stay over .300 and reach 30 home runs for a playoff team, it might convince a few voters.
Standing in his way, ironically, would be his teammates. Freddie Freeman was considered the frontrunner for the MVP for most of the season but his production lately hasn’t been up to MVP level. If Freddie finds another gear to close out the season, it might actually be tougher for either of the Braves stars to win. A split vote would be more likely.
But whatever happens, Atlanta has seen something truly special in 2018 and he’s only 20. So, regardless of whether or not he wins this year, Acuna needs to buy himself a trophy case sometime soon. A big one.
Knights Continue To Trot
By: Rich Bontrager
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For the third consecutive week the Frederica Knights dominated their opponent, this time August Prep and came away with an easy win of 44-13.
The lop-sided victory began as the Knights defense forced the Cavaliers to punt after their opening drive stalled out.
Four plays later, Coach Brandon Derrick’s offensive would score on a Denver Anthony (QB) pass to Sophomore receiver Jaiden Rose-Scally. With 9:18 remaining in the first quarter, and the extra point was good Frederica was up 7-0.
Moments later, the Knights would force a turn over and the score on the very next play. The score highlighted the speed and agility of Jashawn Sheffield (Sr) as he rushed for 18 yards and helped his team to an early 14-0 advantage.
By half-time Frederica was controlling all aspects of the game and leading August Prep Day 41-7.
The Knights Special teams contributed to the victory in a big way as Junior Kicker William Brock connected on all but one of his point after kicks.
Plus, Isaiah Jackson would return yet another kick off for 75 yards.
Throughout the game, Augusta Day Prep struggled to make clean snaps between Quarterback and center, which caused several broken plays with sloppy hand offs and the inability to get any offensive flow to the game.
The Knights defense keyed off of these mistakes and would sack Justin Meddings three times and force an interception.
The second half was all running clock to help move the game along and not have the Cavaliers’ homecoming events totally ruined.
With start of the third quarter, Freshman QB Thomas Veal (Fr.) would lead the offensive squad. Such lengthy play time for younger players in real ball games is only strengthening the depth chart of a team that is showing great potential of being crowned state champion.
The Knights final score would come with 9:08 left to go in the third quarter. Frederica would have to settle for only 3 points as William Brock would kick a 35-yard field to seal the victory.
With the victory, Frederica improves to 3-2, while Augusta Prep Day continues to look for their first win of 2018.
The Knights will have the coming week off and then will return to action on Friday, Sept. 28th. The off week will allow for several players to get healed up and return to the line to help their teammates battle powerhouse Pinewood Christian Academy.
Pirates Sunk By Camden
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Camden County rolled into Glynn County Stadium and ruined the BHS home opener by blowing out the Brunswick High Pirates 37-0.
It was a total lackluster effort by the Pirates who suffered an embarrassing home loss.
Coming off a bye week the Pirates were just off all night on offense and as the game progressed the defense wore down and gave up some big plays.
Anthony Mountain came off the bench and led the offense on a couple of nice drives in the second half in relief of KJ Lee. Mountain’s performance may have created a QB battle moving forward.
Pirate Report Card:
Offense: F. The offense was offensive. The offensive line got manhandled. The QB play was not much better and forced a QB change in the third quarter.
Mountain came in and did some good things and maybe earned the opportunity to start next week. The wide receivers had key drops and the Pirates had two more turnovers. The Pirates were held to 58 yards rushing and 225 yards of total offense.
Defense: D. This grade would have been higher but I felt this group mailed it in during the 4th quarter of the contest.
You can’t beat anyone when you give 7.8 yards per play in a football game. BHS had talented defensive backs getting beaten too easily and the run defense was good in spots but just got worn down due to lack of production from the offense.
Special Teams: B. Mitchell Richburg had a good night punting the football and you know it is a long night when your punter is a candidate for player of the game. The opening kickoff was a touchback. A nice Improvement made in this area.
Coaching: D. This team did not play well. And late in the first half Camden ran the same play three straight times for a TD, Camden stoned the BHS offense.
The Pirates had nine penalties on the night and came out after the halftime break flat. Being on a running clock in the 4th quarter is never good.
Overall: D. Back to the drawing board for BHS.
This was just an awful performance and there is nowhere to go but up now. This team has the talent and potential to be a good football team but it needs to become mentally tougher.
There is no excuse to get beat 37-0 at home. This team will improve and get better when region play starts in October. Time to forget this one and move forward. This teams needs its talent to play up to its talent level.
Statesboro Killed By Turnovers Against Effingham
By: Josh Aubrey
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Last year it was a wild shootout between Statesboro and Effingham that saw the Rebels come from 20 points down to win in Springfield 38-34.
This time around instead of a shootout, the Blue Devils shot themselves in the foot, with three first half turnovers that proved too much to come back from, as Statesboro fell 20-15 to drop to 2-2 on the season.
“The last thing we told our kids was to protect the football,” said Statesboro coach Jeff Kaiser. “Three turnovers, with one going for a touchdown really killed us. We beat ourselves, they didn’t beat us.”
Statesboro actually outgained Effingham County with 312 yards of total offense to only 120 for the Rebels but it would be the three Statesboro turnovers that would prove to be the difference in this one.
The Blue Devil offense was in excellent field position on their first drive of the game. Jaylen Roberson broke a tackle and went 45 yards before being brought down at the Effingham seven-yard line. The offense stalled and then on third down a bobbled exchange resulted in the ball being loose. After both teams scrambled around the Rebels finally fell on it at their own 35-yard line.
With no score through one quarter of play Statesboro’s defense got them the ball back, as Flip Dixon picked off a Jerid Stokes pass, giving the Blue Devils the ball at the 35.
A few plays later Statesboro quarterback Drake Horton was intercepted himself and the Rebels took over at midfield.
It wouldn’t take the Rebels long to score as Stokes hooked up with tight end Necos Gadson on a crossing pattern and he would go the rest of the way untouched for a 37-yard touchdown and the Rebels had a 7-0 lead.
Coach Kaiser then put Sage Reese in at quarterback for the first time this year and things didn’t go well.
On the first play from scrimmage Reese was stood up and while fighting ahead the ball was stripped away and scooped up by the Rebels Joseph Solomon, who would go 35 yards for the touchdown. The two-point conversion failed and Effingham was on top 13-0.
On the ensuing kickoff the Blue Devils Will Yawn gave Statesboro a bit of a spark with a 38-yard kickoff return into Rebel territory.
The offense then proceeded to march downfield, with linebacker turned running back Corey McCullough doing a lot of the damage. McCullough would cap the drive with a 11-yard touchdown run.
McCullough would then punch in the two-point conversion, cutting the lead to 13-8, with 2:35 left in the half. That score would hold into halftime.
The Rebels came out of the third quarter and promptly went on a five-minute drive, capped off by a seven-yard Desmond House touchdown which extended the lead to 20-8.
The Blue Devil offense was unable to get going until late in the game as they went 70 yards on their final drive of the game, aided by a couple Effingham penalties.
The drive culminated in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Horton to Yawn to cut the lead to 20-15 with less than a minute to go.
The Blue Devil onside kick attempt was recovered by the Rebels, who were able to take a couple knees and run out the clock, as they improved to 4-1 on the season.
“Our kids played hard but I didn’t think we played too smart tonight,” Kaiser said. “We will tell our kids they can listen to the poison out there if they want to, or you can come back to work, and put your nose down and try to get better. It doesn’t get any easier.”
Up next Statesboro travels to West Laurens next Friday night for a non-region matchup.
Glynn Stung By Yellow Jackets
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors took to the road this past week to take on the undefeated Wayne County Yellow Jackets.
Wayne County had looked impressive coming in with a big win over Richmond Hill two weeks ago.
The Terrors had a bye week prior to the game and had only played a half of football in two weeks. That half coming against Groves and the second half was cancelled due to weather.
The Wayne County Yellow Jackets took control of the game early, scoring on their first drive of the game for a 7-0 lead.
Wayne would add to it in the 2nd quarter and would lead 14-0 before Glynn would rally.
The Red Terrors put a TD on the board to close within 14-7 and would then score on a 1-yd TD run by quarterback TJ Lewis to tie the game heading into the half.
However, Wayne would take control of the game again. MJ Fuller returned the opening kick of the second half 80 yards for the touchdown. The Yellow Jackets converted a 2-point conversion for a 22-14 lead.
Wayne would then recover a kick that hit a Glynn player on the kickoff and then would march the ball into the endzone for a 29-14 advantage early in the 3rd quarter.
The Yellow Jackets went into “clock chewing” mode after that and ran the ball at will against the Terror defensive front.
The Red Terrors began to amass some momentum in the 4th quarter, however that momentum would be squashed as the Terror QB TJ Lewis threw into double coverage and the Yellow Jackets intercepted the pass inside the 20.
Keep in mind the Terrors are a young football team and this was a great measuring stick to see there they stood. You can expect Coach Hidalgo to have his Terrors ready to play next week and to have learned from the mistakes made against Wayne.
With the loss the Terrors drop to 2-2 on the season and will travel to Waycross next week to take on rival Ware County.
Glynn Academy has not lost to the Gators since 2014.
Ware will be coming off of a bye week.
The Great Casper
By: Rich Syles
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Now, I have had a privilege to interview some of the greats in professional
Golf; Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Fred Couples, Tom Kite, Davis Love III, Billy Casper and a few more.
I have interviewed some of the great architects of some of the outstanding courses in the world. I would like to share with you one of my favorite interviews and why.
I had the opportunity to sit with PGA Tour legend, Billy Casper, one on one, for an hour and half at a friend’s house in Raleigh, NC.
Casper was funny, down to earth and humble. He was a man with a strong faith and did not have the notoriety that the others did.
Yet, Billy Casper’s winning percentage was third behind Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. He was ahead of everyone else; Palmer, Player, Trevino, etc. The statistic was figured upon number of PGA tournaments entered and number of wins.
That is a fact not many people realize about Billy Casper. He did not have a big public relations team behind him. He had his talent and his faith. Casper was a gentleman’s gentleman who loved people, his family, which included many adopted children.
I asked him specifically who was his biggest rival…..he said, “whoever I was playing at the time.” I asked him about his U.S. Open win at the Olympic Club. On the tenth
tee, he was 7 shots behind Arnold Palmer with nine holes to play. He told me about every hole, not only what he hit, but how he hit it and what Arnold got on those holes.
At the end, he tied Palmer and won in a playoff.
This was one of my favorite interviews and people. RIP Billy. To steal a line from Bob Hope…..thanks for the memories.
College Football Top 10 Week 2
NFC South
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NFL season has officially kicked off and there were some great games.
All 32 teams (even Cleveland) believe they have a chance for a winning season at this point. Well maybe not Buffalo but you get my drift. We’re going to take a look around the NFC South to see what we learned.
New Orleans and Tampa Bay played a great, high scoring game. The Buccaneers won 48-40 on the road. The first thing that jumps out is the lack of defense from both teams.
Jameis Winston is currently serving a three-game suspension, so journeyman QB Ryan Fitzpatrick played. Surprisingly, Fitzpatrick threw for 417 yards, 4 touchdowns, no interceptions and completed 75% of his passes.
He played amazing but he has been inconsistent his entire career. I believe if he wins another game, he will take the starting job from Winston.
The Saints have been known for elite offense since Sean Payton and Drew Brees came to town in 2006 and they did not disappoint.
Wide receiver Michael Thomas had a monster game with 16 catches, 180 yards and a TD. He also had a costly fumble that Tampa Bay recovered.
Alvin Kamara showed that he would not have a sophomore slump. He scored 3 total touchdowns, a 2-point conversion and had over one hundred yards receiving.
Carolina beat Dallas 16-8. The Panthers defense looked good, holding Ezekiel Elliot to 69 yards rushing. Cam Newton lived up to his Super Man nickname, leading the team in rushing yards. He scored a TD on the ground and he looked better as a passer by completing 65% of his attempts.
We have to take into consideration this was against the Cowboys and their offense is not very good. Dallas has been elite at running the ball but they do not have any playmakers other than Elliott.
I think Carolina’s defense is good but we need to see them against better offenses.
Linebacker Luke Kuechly left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury so that is something to monitor.
Atlanta opened on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles won 18-12 and it was a sloppy game that was delayed to due lightning.
If you recall in last season’s playoff game it came down to the final play and the Falcons could not score the winning touchdown.
The Red Zone woes continued for the Falcons and that is troubling. They had five trips to the Red Zone and scored once.
On the final play of the game Atlanta was inside the Eagles 10-yard line and of course, they have to throw to Julio Jones. Unfortunately, Ryan did not throw him a catchable ball, just like the playoff loss.
I’ve always been a big Matty Ice fan but his expectations were raised when he signed his new $150 million contract. He’s under much more scrutiny and I feel this is a Super Bowl or bust year for the Falcons.
We have 15 more games left so I do not want to overreact after week 1.
The NFC South looks like it will be the most competitive division in the league again. I believe if one of the teams can get home field advantage in the playoffs they will get to the Super Bowl.
