The Long County High School football team fell to Tattnall County, 23-14, on Friday in Ludowici.
Long County scored first and took a 14-10 lead into halftime, and Blue Tide running back Brandon Scott had a monster game with 247 yards rushing and two touchdowns. But too many mistakes in the second half helped the Battle Creek Warriors score 13 unanswered points.
“Mental mistakes … two pass-interference calls, an interception and then turnover, too many mistakes — that was the difference in the game,” Long County head coach Ron Flott said.
Though the Blue Tide lost the game, they did show that they could play with Class AAA Tattnall County. That was clear early on when Xavier Stapleton picked off a pass and ran the ball to the Warrior 3-yard line.
On the next play, Scott punched the ball in for the score. The Tide went for two but failed. 

Tattnall County got the ball back but was forced to punt. On Long County’s possession, Dequan Glover rambled 69 yards for an apparent score, but a holding penalty negated the touchdown. Blue Tide quarterback Brett Blake then had a pass picked off, giving the Warriors the ball at Blue Tide 32.
Shortly after, Tattnall County from the 1 and knocked home the extra-point attempt for a 7-6 lead.
On Long County’s fifth offensive possession, the Tide drove to the Warrior 11, where Scott took the rock and pounded in for his second touchdown of the night. Jaquarius Harrison punched in the 2-point conversion, and the Blue Tide were back on top, 14-7.
Just before the half, the Warriors kicked a short field goal to narrow the gap to four points.
Tattnall County scored in the third quarter and took a 16-14 lead into the final period. The Blue Tide drove to the Warrior 6 but didn’t score and turned the ball over on downs.
With stout defensive play from both teams, neither offense was able to move the ball on their next two possessions. However, Tattnall County’s offense got the ball near midfield and, with time running out, scored on a 48-yard naked bootleg run to the left to seal the victory.
Though Long County lost the game, Flott said that his team played aggressive and showed great effort. He also said that his team got better during the game in many areas and was proud of their aggressiveness.
“I saw a lot of our players improve during the game. They realized that some of the things they were trying wasn’t working and said, ‘Let me try what the coaches have told me,’ and it worked,” he said. “Also, the defense played aggressive and ran for the football for most of the night.”
Flott also praised the individual play of Scott, Stapleton, Michael Abram, Jamin Davis and Mykoel Stanley.
The Blue Tide are off this week and next play Sept. 12 when they host Metter. The Tigers are 2-0 coming off a 22-6 win over Claxton.