The Blue Tide football team will travel to Darien tonight to take on the McIntosh County Buccaneers. Long County will have its hands full with the Region 2-AA opponent.
McIntosh is 2-1, having defeated Glynn Academy and Brantley County. However, the Buccaneers did lose 13-12 to the undefeated Liberty County Panthers earlier this season.
The Tide is coming off a 35-7 loss to Appling County — a game that actually was much closer than the score indicated. During that game, the Tide lost three players to injuries, including starting quarterback Jake Durham. He hurt his hamstring and, according to Long County head coach Kyle Wilson, he probably won’t play in tonight’s match.
If Durham is unable to play, starting wide receiver Justin Boyd will line up behind center.
Having Boyd at quarterback will not be a big adjustment for the Tide as he and Durham often switch positions. However, Durham’s absence means the Tide is losing a starter on offense and a starting defensive back.Long County also will be without linebacker Dominick Torres, who tore his solis muscle in the game against Appling.
Running back/defensive back Brandon Hope left last Friday’s game with an injury to his hand, which trainers initially feared was fractured. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, and the sophomore is slated to play tonight.
Coming into tonight’s game, McIntosh County is averaging 28 points on offense and allowing 10 points on defense. The Blue Tide is averaging 10 points on offense and, on defense, giving up 34 points.
Tonight’s game in Darien starts at 7:30.
See what Long County head coach Kyle Wilson has to say about this year’s team at http://sports.coastalcourier.com/prep-sports/multimedia/822/.