Gamecocks open football season with road victory

The fireworks started with the opening kickoff of the New Brockton football team's  34-20 win Aug. 26 against Georgiana on the road.

“It does, no doubt, build confidence in our (players),” NBHS football coach Justin Jones said of the victory the Gamecocks earned in a hostile environment. “It kind of re-instills what we've been teaching them. You've got to play every time. You've got to bring your 'A' game. You've got to get after it. You can't worry about what the other team does. In this case, Georgiana was a good football team. We just happened to do a good job of capitalizing on some things we were able to create. It worked out (well) for us.”

First Quarter

The first time New Brockton made a play in the game, Clay Kelley took the first kickoff and raced 92 yards to the end zone.

“It was great for us for the sheer fact it gave us instant momentum in the game,” Jones said. “Going to somebody else's place, if you can kind of gain some momentum early it seems to kind of help you along and get you through the game. For us, that was huge. It kind of got us going, and it was a good start for us. It was a good job by the return team, and Clay hit it just like you're supposed to. Once he got in open space, there aren't many around (who) will catch him.”

Kelley also led the NBHS defense with 15 total tackles in the game.

Max Weeks' extra point gave the Gamecocks a 7-0 lead with 11:45 in the first quarter.

Georgiana answered with a 15-yard touchdown pass with 8:03 in the first quarter, but a missed two-point try left NBHS with a 7-6 edge.

The Panthers marched 70 yards to pay dirt, and Jones wasn’t the least bit surprised by their resiliency.

“We didn't expect anything less, really,” he said. “That's the character of a good football team. When something like that happens they get it, bounce right back, come on down and make things interesting.”

New Brockton’s Isaiah Donaldson recovered a fumble on Georgiana’s next possession, but the Gamecocks couldn’t cash in the turnover.

The score remained the same the rest of the first half, and the Gamecocks had a 7-6 advantage at the break.

Third Quarter

With 8:26 in the third quarter, Lukas Perdue picked off a Georgiana pass. He finished with six tackles, a pass breakup and the interception.

“He played a really good ball game, period, and made some plays,” Jones said. “He had some really good open-field tackles that negated what could have been some big plays.” 

The Panthers intercepted New Brockton quarterback Dalton Adkison on the ensuing possession, however.

Adkison finished 10-of-15 through the air with 147 yards and the interception. D.T. Adams caught four passes for 78 yards to lead the receivers.

 New Brockton’s offensive front  and blocking on the edge began to wear the Panthers down in the second half. It paved the way for 338 total yards, 191 of which came as a result of the running game.

“As the game went on, we were able to kind of gain some momentum on the ground,” Jones said. “A lot of that was guys up front. A lot of it was guys on the edge blocking. I was just proud of our overall effort, all of our (players). There's some schematic stuff we've got to correct, we've got to do a better job of and get fixed before Elba. The overall effort was really good.” 

The Gamecocks forced another turnover when Tyler McIntosh recovered a fumble and returned it 34 yards. This time, New Brockton turned the turnover into points.

With 3:16 left in the third quarter, Jahari Brown dove into to the end zone with a 1-yard touchdown run. The extra point was blocked, but NBHS had a 13-6 lead.

The Gamecocks carried the margin to the end of the  third.

Fourth Quarter

Brown scored again with 11:12 left in the game on a 1-yard run, and New Brockton led 19-6.

The Panthers roared back with a 61-yard touchdown pass and a two-point conversion to cut their deficit to 19-14 with 10:36 in the fourth.

New Brockton scored on a 7-yard run and two-point conversion from Brown to take a 29-14 lead with 7:26 left.

Brown scored NBHS' final touchdown on a 10-yard run, and Weeks' extra point gave the Gamecocks a 34-14 lead with 3:46 in the game.

He finished with 169 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries. 

Georgiana scored on a 1-yard run with 16 seconds left to cut the deficit to 34-20, but could draw no closer.

The Panthers had 379 total yards, but Jones is pleased with his defense’s play.

“They did get some yards on us, but we seemed to kind of bow our back when it got right there close,” he said. “We had one goal-line stand and then another they were…in the red zone and we held them out on four downs. (We) had the interception inside the red zone that held them out again.”

The Gamecocks (1-0) will begin Class 2A, Region 3 play Sept. 2 against Elba on the road. With the win against the Panthers, New Brockton will enter its first region game looking to keep its momentum.

“We don't want to be the team that takes two steps forward and one step back,” Jones said. “I don't care if we're crawling. We just want to continue to get better, and I think Friday night was just another step in the right direction to being able to get where we ultimately want to be.”