Led by senior Prince Moody’s five touchdowns, the Long County Blue Tide bounced back from a five-game skid to defeat the Brantley County Herons, 34-28.
During the first quarter, the Herons couldn’t get their offense in gear, and, even though the Blue Tide managed to get as deep as the Brantley County 25-yard line, a fumble by quarterback Justin Boyd resulted in the period ending with no team able to score.
In the second quarter, the Long County defense continued to dominant the Heron offense, and big plays by junior linebacker Eric Hadley led the way. In addition to Hadley playing well, a forced fumble by senior defensive-end Justin Hall, and then the fumble being recovered by senior lineman Bon Tria, resulted in the Blue Tide getting the ball back with good field position early in the period.
The Tide started the series on the Heron 38-yard line, but was unable to capitalize on the short field, and they had to punt again after only three plays.
After the punt, the Herons began their drive on their own 29-yard line. For the first time in the game, they were able to move the ball and they drove all the way down to the Blue Tide 13-yard line, and had a second-and-nine situation.
On the play, the Heron quarterback hit Randy Clark for the touchdown, putting Brantley County up 6-0. After the PAT, it was 7-0 Herons.
Both teams exchanged possessions, and Long County got the ball back with 5:14 left in the half on their own 34-yard line. The Tide started moving the ball, and with big receptions by Eli Guest and Ricky Rivera, the offense found themselves on the Brantley 15-yard line. From here, senior tailback Prince Moody hit the hole and scampered for the score. The PAT failed and the score was 7-6 Herons.
Brantley County got the ball back and was driving toward the end zone, but with 38 seconds left in the half, defensive back Jake Durham picked off the ball, giving the Blue Tide one more opportunity to score before the half.
With pinpoint accuracy, Tide quarterback Boyd found Rivera again and then wide out Stevie Harrison, giving Long County the ball near the Heron goal.
On the next play, Moody ran off tackle, getting hit by two Heron defenders, flipping head over heels into the end zone for his second score. After another failed PAT, the score was 12-7, Blue Tide at the half.
In the second half, Long County received the ball first, and drove to the Brantley 43-yard line, having a second-and-eight situation. Moody once more got the call. This time, he broke into the secondary, breaking several tackles for the 43-yard score. After the two-point conversion was made, the score was Long County 20 and Brantley County 7.
Brantley County was down, but they definitely weren’t out. Showing they had no quit in them, they scored 14 unanswered points during the next nine minutes to go up 21-20 with 9:38 left in the game.
The game continued to go back and fourth, with both teams putting up more points until it was tied at 28-28.
With 2:53 left in the game, the Blue Tide had a first down on the Heron 28-yard line. On the first series of plays, Boyd once again handed the ball to Moody, and the senior took it to the house one more time, scoring his fifth touchdown of the night. Unable to get the PAT, the Tide had the lead 34-28, but Brantley got their hands on the ball one more time.
The Herons started their drive on their own 26-yard line, with 2:33 still left in the game. They moved the ball to the Blue Tide 47-yard line, but faced a critical fourth-and-13 call. The Brantley quarterback tried to get the pass to his tailback for the completion, but the ball hit the ground, giving Long County a hard earned 34-28 win.
For the night, Moody had 18 carries for 184 yards on the ground, scoring four rushing touchdowns. He also had three receptions for 64 yards and one touchdown in the air.
After the game, head coach Kyle Wilson told his team, “You are learning how to be men, and I am so proud of you for turning it around; outstanding job, I love all of you”.
Long County (4-5) will have their final game this Friday when they take on the Pierce County Bears at home. It will be Senior Night for the Blue Tide, and if they can pull out the win, it will put them at .500 for the year.
Game time is 7:30.
During the first quarter, the Herons couldn’t get their offense in gear, and, even though the Blue Tide managed to get as deep as the Brantley County 25-yard line, a fumble by quarterback Justin Boyd resulted in the period ending with no team able to score.
In the second quarter, the Long County defense continued to dominant the Heron offense, and big plays by junior linebacker Eric Hadley led the way. In addition to Hadley playing well, a forced fumble by senior defensive-end Justin Hall, and then the fumble being recovered by senior lineman Bon Tria, resulted in the Blue Tide getting the ball back with good field position early in the period.
The Tide started the series on the Heron 38-yard line, but was unable to capitalize on the short field, and they had to punt again after only three plays.
After the punt, the Herons began their drive on their own 29-yard line. For the first time in the game, they were able to move the ball and they drove all the way down to the Blue Tide 13-yard line, and had a second-and-nine situation.
On the play, the Heron quarterback hit Randy Clark for the touchdown, putting Brantley County up 6-0. After the PAT, it was 7-0 Herons.
Both teams exchanged possessions, and Long County got the ball back with 5:14 left in the half on their own 34-yard line. The Tide started moving the ball, and with big receptions by Eli Guest and Ricky Rivera, the offense found themselves on the Brantley 15-yard line. From here, senior tailback Prince Moody hit the hole and scampered for the score. The PAT failed and the score was 7-6 Herons.
Brantley County got the ball back and was driving toward the end zone, but with 38 seconds left in the half, defensive back Jake Durham picked off the ball, giving the Blue Tide one more opportunity to score before the half.
With pinpoint accuracy, Tide quarterback Boyd found Rivera again and then wide out Stevie Harrison, giving Long County the ball near the Heron goal.
On the next play, Moody ran off tackle, getting hit by two Heron defenders, flipping head over heels into the end zone for his second score. After another failed PAT, the score was 12-7, Blue Tide at the half.
In the second half, Long County received the ball first, and drove to the Brantley 43-yard line, having a second-and-eight situation. Moody once more got the call. This time, he broke into the secondary, breaking several tackles for the 43-yard score. After the two-point conversion was made, the score was Long County 20 and Brantley County 7.
Brantley County was down, but they definitely weren’t out. Showing they had no quit in them, they scored 14 unanswered points during the next nine minutes to go up 21-20 with 9:38 left in the game.
The game continued to go back and fourth, with both teams putting up more points until it was tied at 28-28.
With 2:53 left in the game, the Blue Tide had a first down on the Heron 28-yard line. On the first series of plays, Boyd once again handed the ball to Moody, and the senior took it to the house one more time, scoring his fifth touchdown of the night. Unable to get the PAT, the Tide had the lead 34-28, but Brantley got their hands on the ball one more time.
The Herons started their drive on their own 26-yard line, with 2:33 still left in the game. They moved the ball to the Blue Tide 47-yard line, but faced a critical fourth-and-13 call. The Brantley quarterback tried to get the pass to his tailback for the completion, but the ball hit the ground, giving Long County a hard earned 34-28 win.
For the night, Moody had 18 carries for 184 yards on the ground, scoring four rushing touchdowns. He also had three receptions for 64 yards and one touchdown in the air.
After the game, head coach Kyle Wilson told his team, “You are learning how to be men, and I am so proud of you for turning it around; outstanding job, I love all of you”.
Long County (4-5) will have their final game this Friday when they take on the Pierce County Bears at home. It will be Senior Night for the Blue Tide, and if they can pull out the win, it will put them at .500 for the year.
Game time is 7:30.