By: Jeff Doke

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Frederica Academy has only had a football program for six seasons. A mere drop in the bucket when compared to other programs in southeast Georgia.

If you know anything about Frederica, however, you know that their penchant for athletic excellence is not taken lightly. State championship trophies for soccer, baseball, basketball, and golf fill the cases at the athletic department on their St Simons Island campus.

Regardless of how young the football program may be, they have already made their presence known in the GISA, and have already built a legacy of soon-to-be legendary names in the history of Knights football. Yarborough. Bourne. Tatum. Veal.

One of those names that cannot be overlooked is Clint Morgan. Coach Morgan was the first head coach for Frederica football. Although his tenure here only lasted two years, it was a historic one, coaching the Knights to a state championship in their first year of playoff eligibility.

This past Friday in Dublin, Coach Morgan was in the stands, watching the current incarnation of the Knights start their march to the GISA Championship Game to be played at Mercer University on November 18th. Coach Brandon Derrick intends for his squad to be on the field that day, and he was glad to see Coach Morgan at Frederica’s first region game versus Trinity Christian.

“I talked to (Clint) before the game, just cutting up” said Coach Derick after the game. “He said he’d watched us on film two or three times and said we looked really good. He complimented us on how we’ve built the program and really taken off.”

And take off they have. The Knights won their first region game of the year with a 42-20 victory against Trinity Christian, taking their overall record to an undefeated 6-0 mark.

The Knights, who have been somewhat sluggish in the first quarter so far this year, hit pay dirt on their first offensive series, marching the length of the field in five plays for the first of four Gaven Williams touchdown passes. The team didn’t let up after that, heading to the locker room at the half with a 21-6 lead. The early sluggishness has been a concern of Coach Derrick’s.

“i’ve been wanting them to come out and play fast early,” said Coach Derrick, “but after we drove down the field in five plays, it was almost like we checked out offensively for a little while after that, but we bounced back again at the end of the half, running the two-minute offense for that last score.”

Linebacker Antonio Heyward also had a huge night, earning him player of the game honors. Heyward seemed to spend more time in the Crusaders backfield than he did anywhere else on or off the field. Almost every other play it seemed, he was getting penetration and harassing the Trinity quarterback, rushing throws and chasing him out of bounds when he wasn’t outright sacking the Junior.

“We watched a lot of film on these guys, and this was easily the best game they’ve played all year,” said Coach Derrick, giving praise to his opponent.

The trick plays, blocked punt, and fourth down heroics weren’t enough to deny the Knights their first region win. This was quite possibly the most complete game the Knights have put together all season, and the only one so far in which they’ve scored in all four quarters…42-20 Frederica wins

The Knights are back under the oaks September 30th to take on Pinewood Academy. This will be a critical game, especially considering that the Knights are winless against the Pinewood squad. That being said, you can’t help but feel that this year is going to be different. Brandon Derrick has this team motivated and ready for their “March to Mercer.”

I’m just glad I’m coming along for the ride.