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Little Blue Tide edged out in overtime
BabyTides1031
Not quite: Matt Strickland (20) comes up a little short of the goal line in overtime. Long County’s Little Blue Tide lost 7-6 in overtime to the Fort Stewart Dolphins. - photo by Photo by Mike Riddle
The Little Blue Tide fought for four quarters with the Fort Stewart Dolphins on Saturday, but when all was said and done, the boys came up a point short as they lost in overtime, 7-6.
The first period was a defensive battle between the two teams as neither offense could put any points on the board on their first two possessions.
But in the second quarter, the Little Blue Tide team got down to the Dolphin 10-yard line and had a first-and-goal situation.
On the first down, Matt Strickland took the handoff and raced off the left tackle to score. The Blue was unable to convert the extra point and they had a 6-0 lead with 3:10 left in the half.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Tide kicker booted the ball to return man Tion Jewell, and he found a seam and raced the length of the field to even the score at 6-6.
The Little Blue stiffened on the defense and stopped the conversion, so the score was even with 2:50 left in the half.
On the kickoff, the Dolphins tried an onside kick, but it failed when Holden Riddle recovered the ball on the Little Blue’s 35-yard line.
With 2:38 left in the half, the Tide offense got the ball back but was unable to move it, so the score was even at the break.
In the second half, the Dolphins got the ball first and began their drive on their own 30-yard line. On their first offensive play, a Little Blue Tide player hit the Dolphin runner hard, and the ball was coughed up, with Dylan Stewart alertly falling on the ball.
The Little Blue began their drive on the Dolphin 28, and was able to drive down to their opponents’ 10-yard line. But the Little Blue runner fumbled the ball, and the Dolphins got the ball back on their own 15-yard line.
On their first offensive play, the Fort Stewart team put the ball on the ground again, and this time Strickland pounced on the ball, giving the little boys from Long County another chance on offense.
The Blue was able to drive down to the Dolphin 28-yard line, but once again they fumbled the ball, and the Dolphins had it again.  
The Blue defense once again shut down their opponents, and at the end of three, the score still was 6-6.
In the fourth period, neither offense was able to move the ball consistently, but the Dolphins did break one run and appeared to be heading for a score when the Little Blue’s Hunter McPhearson made a touchdown-saving tackle on the Tide’s 30-yard line. This tackle kept the game even, and the game went into overtime.
In OT, the Little Blue Tide were unable to put the ball in the end zone on their first possession, but when the Dolphins had their chance, Jewell hit the hole hard, racing into the end-zone giving the little boys from Long County, a disappointing 7-6 loss.    
After the game, head coach Jamey Jeffries said, “You played hard today and I’m proud of the whole team.”
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