On Friday, Long County lost to Charlton County, 74-28. Despite the score, the Blue Tide put up a gallant fight and gave the Indians all they could handle.
In the first period, the Tide surprised everyone by taking an early lead. Quarterback Jake Durham hit wide out Justin Boyd for a long score. After a successful extra point conversion by Miguel Hernandez, the Tide went up 7-0.
But Charlton came back strong, scoring on their next 2 possessions. After each TD, the Indians went for two-point conversions and brought the score to 16-7.
The Tide didn’t give up, however, and in the second quarter, they put up another score off a Marcus Williams run. With a PAT from Hernandez, Long County narrowed the gap.
The two-point deficit was as close as the Blue Tide would get to the Indians for the rest of the game. The No. 5 ranked Charlton County proved to be too much. However, the Tide did score a third TD in the third period when Durham hit Boyd again, and then a fourth score in the final quarter when Josh Berry saw the end zone.
The Blue Tide put up more points against Charlton than they have against any other team this season. In addition, younger players Luke Golden and Josh Berry put on good performances, giving the team optimism for the future. The team also put forth a good effort. Even though they were down 52-14 after the first half, the Tide continued to play hard and scored two more touchdowns."I was pleased that we played hard and that we didn’t quit. We fought to the end and made improvements that we need to build on," Tide head coach Kyle Wilson said.
He added, "Brandon Hadley had an outstanding game with an interception and a fumble recovery. Justin (Boyd) had a big game. Jake (Durham) had a good game, and the offensive line played outstanding — much improvement from last week."
This Friday is homecoming for the Blue Tide, and they will again try for their first win of the season against Jeff Davis High School. For a preview of the game, see Friday’s Coastal Courier.