LUDOWICI -- The Long County Lady Blue Tide flag football team is rolling along in their inaugural season, and they are currently ranked as one of the top teams in the state. They will only add to that ranking after dominating the McIntosh County Academy Buccaneers and Brunswick Pirates on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
The Tide hosted both the Bucs and Pirates in a jamboree and were up first against MCA. The Tide were on offense first and KeOsha McKeever got them warmed up with a 19-yard run to the 33.
On the next play, quarterback Kyleigh Sizemore found her favorite target Amiyah Simpkins open down the sideline and hit her in stride for a 41-yard pick up to the four. McKeever punctuated the opening drive with a four-yard touchdown run.
The Tide defense played very well all night and forced the first of many three and outs on the night and got the ball at the MCA 26.
The Tide picked up a first down at the 20, but eventually faced a fourth and goal from the 12. Sizemore’s pass to Jada Young in the endzone fell incomplete as they turned the ball over on downs.
The defense forced another punt after a three and out. This time, the offense did not need to take the field as Samaria Harris got under the punt and returned it 30 yards for the score to give her team the 14-0 lead going into halftime.
The Tide once again forced a punt on a three and out and took over from the MCA 33. The offense wasted little time getting back on the board as Makayla Raimer found Jada Freeman on a short pass over the middle and she did the rest of the work to get into the endzone, making the score 21-0.
The plan did not change again for the defense as the Lady Bucs punted once more. From the MCA 34, Raimer connected with Adryanna Harley to the 24 for a ten-yard pick up.
Sizemore then found Raimer for another 10 yard pick up. Raimer then finished off the drive with a pass to Harris to make the score 28-0.
The Lady Bucs finally picked up a first down due to a personal foul on the Lady Tide, but the defense held strong and forced a punt.
McKeever got underneath the punt at her own 35 and made three people miss before getting into the endzone on the 45-yard return to make the final score 34-0.
The Bucs defeated the Lady Pirates 8-7 in the second game of the night. The Pirates made a huge mistake, returning a punt in the wrong direction to give the Bucs a safety and the eventual win.
The Lady Tide did not change their gameplan much in their second game as they dominated from the beginning.
On the second play of the game, Melissa Vazquez made a huge play, intercepting the Pirate pass at the 24. McKeever scored on a 24-yard run on the first offensive play, but it was brought back on a penalty.
Now from the 29, The Lady Tide let McKeever go to work again as she picked up 24 yards to the five. Sizemore found Simpkins in the back of the endzone for the touchdown to go up 6-0.
The defense forced a three and out and got the ball back at the Pirate 23 after a high, short punt. Sizemore found Simpkins wide open down the sideline to get into the endzone and put her team up 12-0.
The Pirates and Tide traded possessions on a punt and turnover on downs before the Pirates took over at their own 25. Two plays later, Vazquez came up big again with her second interception of the night.
From the Pirates 28, Sizemore found Simpkins for 27 yards to the one. Freeman got the ball on a reverse and got into the endzone to put her team up 18-0.
The Tide forced another punt as the snap was dropped at the Brunswick 20, giving the Tide great field position.
Sizemore connected with Harley down to the four. Sizemore seemingly hit Simpkins for their third touchdown hookup of the game, but the Tide was called for offensive pass interference.
They were backed up to the 20 and McKeever got the ball and went to work. She made a few people miss and got into the endzone to put her team up 24-0 at the half.
The Tide got the ball to start the second half and were helped out on a roughing the passer call. They drove down inside the five before Raimer finished off the drive with a run to make the score 30-0.
The defense kept holding strong, forcing another turnover on a dropped punt snap. Freeman got 15 yards on the ground to the two, before the Tide seemed to call off the dogs.
Rebecca Lust took over at quarterback and eventually threw an interception, the Tide’s first turnover in three games. The Pirates took over at their own 10 but could not get much going before turning the ball back over to the Lady Tide at their 26.
The Tide added to their lead with a 17-yard run by Harris to make the score 36-0 with seven minutes left. McKeever pulled down the Tide’s third interception of the night on the next drive.
Lust hit Sarah Barnes on a 10-yard gain to the two. Yazmin Coronel finished off the drive from there to make the final score 43-0.
The Lady Tide are now 5-0 on the year and have recorded four shutouts on the season. They are currently outscoring opponents 156-18.
They will next play Thursday, Nov. 4 in a jamboree against Jenkins and Glynn Academy in Savannah and another jamboree Tuesday, Nov. 9 against Islands and Calvary Day in Savannah.
They will wrap up the regular season on Monday, Nov. 15 with a senior night matchup against Southeast Bulloch.