Adam MacDonald
The Valdosta Daily Times
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.”
