QUITMAN —
QUITMAN — The high school football season is about a month away, and the Brooks County Trojans are hard at work preparing for a shot at what they hope is a stunning upset.
On Aug. 27, the Trojans will make the short trip down highway 84 to face the Valdosta Wildcats at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in each teams’ opening game.
The game will be built as a matchup of David vs. Goliath, with the Wildcats and their huge senior class seeking Valdosta’s most successful season in years, and the Trojans playing with just three returning starters on each side of the ball.
However, the Trojans have a recent track record of success against Region 1-AAAAA. They beat Tift County in 2008 and 2009 by a combined score of 62-14. The downside of that is now the Trojans can’t sneak up on anyone.
“The cat’s out of the bag,” Brooks County head coach Maurice Freeman said. “Everyone knows that Brooks County will get after you. And we’re proud of that, make no mistake.”
Beating Tift County was a lot easier for the Trojans with senior quarterbacks and Keith and Kendrick Christopher, though. The Christopher brothers graduated in the spring and are set to play college football this fall. Quarterback Keojuan Rose also graduated, leaving the quarterback spot to incoming freshman Malcolm Parrish.
Overall, only three starters return on offense and defense to a Trojans’ team that lost in the second round of the playoffs to Charlton County last year.
“I’ve learned that experience is half of the game,” Freeman said about working throughout the offseason with the 2010 Trojans. “Inexperience makes it extremely tough. If you’re experienced and you’re talented, my job is easier. If you’re talented and have no experience, you’ve got to keep your eyes focused all day long. I knew it, but I wasn’t ready for it.”
Despite Brooks County’s youth, Freeman said the team has no fear when it comes to playing Valdosta. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 4-0 (the teams played every year from 1996-99), but three of the games were competitive. Valdosta won by scores of 43-12, 21-6, 14-7 and 28-6.
“We haven’t beaten them, but we gave them some good games,” Freeman said. “I know they have about 45 seniors this year and they’ll be pretty good, but only 11 can come out and play at one time. That’s OK. You have to play. The bottom line is we’re not afraid of anybody. We’ve worked in the weight room just like they have, conditioned just like they have. They have some numbers, and that makes a difference, but we play good South Georgia football. So why not?
“Realistically we really hope to keep it close. If they make some mistakes then they may go home sad. They cannot afford to make a lot of big mistakes.”
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
Jonathan Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times Brooks County head football coach Maurice Freeman points a player in the right direction during a summer practice session in Quitman on Wednesday.
-
Jonathan Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times A Brooks County full back runs a play during summer practice in Quitman.
Discussion
Trojans prepping for battle vs. ’Cats
- Local Sports
-
-
Comeback falls short
A five-run seventh inning wasn’t enough to carry the Valdosta State Blazers past reigning national champion UC-San Diego on Day One of the NCAA Softball Championship Tournament in Louisville.
-
Four Blazers garner All-America honors
Just before the Valdosta State softball team loaded onto the team bus to head to Bellarmine University for its Day 1 matchup with the University of California-San Diego, three Blazers were informed they were All-Americans.
-
Title quest begins today
The only thing standing in the way of Valdosta State’s quest for claiming a first-ever softball national championship is four games.
The Blazers (52-4) will play the first of those games today at 12:30 p.m. in Louisville, the site of this year’s National Championship Tournament and the site of the Division II Spring Sports Festival. -
Vikings wrap up spring football practice
The Lowndes football team wrapped up spring practice with its annual spring game on Tuesday at Martin Stadium.
It was an informal game. No score was kept, and the clock was turned off. The offensive and defensive units rotated on each series — with the varsity and junior varsity squads each getting plenty of snaps — and nearly every player participating in spring practice got to play. Lowndes used six different quarterbacks (two with the varsity offense), and 18 different players got to carry the ball. Ten players caught at least one pass. -
Lowndes’ LaRenick Rollins heading to Brewton-Parker
On Monday, Lowndes High’s LaRenick Rollins signed a letter of intent to wrestle for Brewton-Parker College next year.
Rollins looks forward to the opportunity to wrestle in college.
“Very excited,” he said. “(Signing) was just one step closer to going to college. I’m so happy.” -
Lowndes Middle coach suffers burns in accident
Ed Mitchell, a coach at Lowndes Middle School, suffered second- and third-degree burns in a cooking accident at his house on Saturday.
Mitchell was airlifted to a burn center in Augusta on Saturday night, and had surgery on Sunday morning. -
Column: ‘All eyes forward’ while learning from the past
Following his team’s 2-0 win over Florida Southern on Saturday, which clinched the South Super Regional Championship, Valdosta State head softball coach Thomas Macera was asked if his team will look back at the 2010 national tournament as a reference moving forward to this year’s national tournament.
-
South Region champions!
For the second consecutive day, Natalia Morozova was the hero for the Valdosta State softball team.
On Friday night, Morozova’s RBI double in the 16th inning carried the Blazers past the Florida Southern Moccasins. On Saturday, it was Morozova’s two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning that carried the Blazers to a 2-0 win and a trip to the NCAA Division II National Tournament. -
Lowndes tennis team falls in semifinals
Lowndes’ girls tennis team fell 3-0 to Roswell in the Class AAAAA state semifinals on Saturday at the Clayton County International Park.
-
Blazers win South Region, advance to national tournament
The Valdosta State softball team is headed back to the national tournament. The top-ranked Blazers advanced to their second National Championship Tournament in three years Saturday behind a 2-0 win over Florida Southern in game 2 of the South Super Regional Tournament.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
