Utah school rallies from early deficit

By BUD L. ELLIS

The Brunswick News

Never before in the nine-year history of the Sea Island Co. Golden Isles Bowl Classic has 60 minutes of football not decided the outcome.

Never before in the game's history have there been more turnovers.

And never before has there been such an exciting finish.

Snow College of Utah traveled more than 1,700 miles for Saturday's contest at Glynn County Stadium against Georgia Military College. And it seemed they had to go that far to rally from a 14-point first-quarter deficit, but the No. 6-ranked Badgers did in winning 27-21 in overtime, in front of an estimated crowd of 4,500.

"It's been a great year for us," said Snow quarterback Jason Coutts, who passed for 272 yards and two touchdowns, and scored on a 5-yard run for the game-winner in overtime. "This is the way we wanted to go out."

Certainly, the same cannot be said for Georgia Military, which lost in its seventh Golden Isles Bowl appearance. The Bulldogs (8-3), ranked No. 11 in the nation, stormed to a 21-7 lead with three touchdowns in a seven-minute span of the first quarter, then proceeded to lose four fumbles, two which set up Snow's two second-half touchdowns.

"We got overconfident," said GMC defensive back Brandon Issac, who won MVP honors for the Bulldogs with a fumble recovery for a touchdown, an interception and four passes defended. "We didn't come out and execute."

Neither team took care of the ball. Snow (9-1) lost six turnovers — three fumbles and three interceptions — as both teams broke the old bowl game record for most fumbles lost (two).

But the Bulldogs' miscues proved most costly after halftime.

In the third quarter, Snow sophomore defensive lineman Dustin Schroader, who won MVP honors for the Badgers with two and one-half sacks, pounced on GMC quarterback Joe Riner's fumble at the Bulldogs' 37.

Seven plays later, sophomore running back Gordon Reid busted in from the 1. The extra point from Joey Mack, the only Georgia play- er on Snow's roster, pulled the Badgers to within 21-14 with 4:58 left in the quarter.

Still down seven entering the fourth quarter, Snow caught a break when GMC running back Brent Thomas fumbled a pitch, one of seven GMC fumbles. Freshman linebacker Randon Young recovered for Snow at the Bulldogs' 40.

The turnover set up Coutts' 19-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Justin Walker with 9:48 left in regulation. Mack's extra point tied it at 21-21.

"Our defense has played great all year," Schroader said. "It just came together for us in the second half."

In overtime, Snow stuffed GMC on four plays. Taking the ball at the 25 and needing only a field goal to score, the Badgers instead pounded it to the 5. From there, Coutts kept on third-and-one, hesitated at the 3, then slipped a tackle and dove head-first across the goal line for the game-winner.

"That final play sums up the kind of heart and desire he has," Snow head coach Jeff Kilts said of Coutts, who finished 22-for-40.

Riner finished 22-for-34 for 292 yards, as both quarterbacks tied the bowl record for most completions set by Jones County's Tim Weathersby in 1998.

GMC had two chances to win the game inside the final two minutes. The Bulldogs reached the Snow 19 before a sack of Riner by Schroader and sophomore defensive back Brock Johnson, and a personal foul penalty on GMC, forced the Bulldogs to punt instead of going for a potential game-winning field goal with 1:54 left.

But Coutts was picked off by GMC freshman cornerback Waymon Ford, who made a leaping interception at the Bulldogs' 45 with 1:05 left. The Bulldogs moved to the Badgers' 30, but Snow defensive lineman David Tongolei swatted down Blake Bartol's 47-yard field-goal attempt as the buzzer sounded.

"We battled, regardless of the situation," said GMC head coach Bert Williams. "Whether we were up or down, we played hard."

Early on, the Bulldogs were flying high. Snow scored first, Coutts hitting tight end Logan Hall sliding at the goal line for a 19-yard touchdown with 9:43 left in the opening quarter.

GMC then tied it on its next possession, marching 64 yards in six plays. Riner capped the drive, finding Ford in the corner of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown. Bartol's extra point tied it at 7-7 with 6:58 left.

The Bulldogs took the lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by Thomas three minutes later, then extended the advantage to 21-7 when Issac fell on a Coutts fumble in the end zone with 29 seconds left in the first quarter.

But the Badgers gathered themselves, and kept the deficit at 14 points until the second half.

By MURRAY POOLE
News Sports Editor
Brunswick News

Much of the talk leading up to the 6th annual Sea Island Company Golden Isles Bowl Classic concerned the increased speed of Lackawanna Junior College and how the Fightin' Falcons would make a much better showing than they did in the inaugural game here back in 1995. Nope, didn't happen. Just as in the first Golden Isles Bowl, when Lackawanna was pounded by Georgia Military College 48-15, the Falcons didn't have nearly enough speed and quickness to cope with the Georgia host team. Before maybe the best turnout at Glynn County Stadium since the opening '95 contest, the previously undefeated and 6th-ranked Falcons were dismantled 35-7 by the Middle Georgia College Warriors, who entered Saturday's battle at 9-1 and with a No. 9 national juco ranking. In this one, it was a case of Lackawanna passing out early Christmas gifts. The Falcons of Mark Duda turned the ball over to Randy Pippin's Warriors no less than six times...four on pass interceptions and two on lost fumbles. Middle Georgia, thanks to that generosity by the Falcons, roared into a 28-7 halftime lead and then tacked on a meaningless touchdown in the final quarter.

Statistics-wise, there wasn't really that much difference between the two ballclubs. MGC rushed for 208 net yards and passed for 35, for a 243 total offense figure, while Lackawanna rushed for 136 yards and had 77 through the air, for a 213 total. As expected, Pippin was elated with his school's first-ever victory in the Golden Isles Bowl Classic. "It was just a tremendous effort," he said. "Our players and assistant coaches gave us the preparation-mentally, physically and spiritually-that we needed to be successful. I think right now we're playing as good as any team in the country and hopefully this will move us into a top five finish."
"There was so much publicity about their defense being number one in the country and them having the number one running back and, no doubt, they have a talented team," said Pippin, "but we are a talented team as well. We have great backs, receivers and defensive people too and today, they just rose to the occasion."
"It's such a motivating force to be able to come to this bowl game," said Pippin. "It's such a great event and now our kids know what we knew about it and can pass it on to our younger players."

"I want to apologize for the way we played today," said Lackawanna mentor Duda. "It's a shame and I feel bad because we're a much better football team than we showed out there today. "We had six turnovers today and we haven't had six in the six previous games period," Duda continued. "Basically, they put us in a hole and changed everything that we normally do. We're not used to giving up points when our defense is not on the field. Alan Jones had, what, 150 today on 28 carries and if we're in our normal game, he gets well over 200 on about 40 carries."
"Our kids hadn't ever been down by 21 points before and I think they felt they had to get it all back at once," said Duda. "But give Middle Georgia all the credit, they played a great ballgame. I just wish we could have made a better showing."

Tyson Pittman, MGC's 6-1, 200-pound sophomore running back from Port St. Joe, Fla., led the Warriors by rushing for 123 yards on just 13 carries including scoring runs of 34 and 5 yards. Sophomore Dante Brown, the team's top rusher during the regular season, followed with 65 yards in 16 trips while sophomore quarterback Mario Spencer, though completing only three passes, had a 34-yard touchdown hookup to wideout Adrian Madise. Leading MGC's sterling defensive effort and receiving the Frank Inman Defensive Player of the Game Award was sophomore safety Eduardo Freeman. Freeman had a pass interception, returned a fumble 46 yards for a touchdown that was called back due to a clipping penalty on the Warriors and, turned in two solo tackles and several assists. Also picking off Ben Pritchyk passes were Michael Sims, Chris Fowler and Josh Grant. Safety Sims was in on four tackles, including one sack, while defensive end William Moody also rendered a sack and four tackles for the Warrior stop-em gang. Lackawanna's 225-pound sophomore tailback, Alan Jones, who ran for over 2,000 yards in the regular season, copped the Frank Inman Offensive Player of the Game Award for his 150 yards rushing on 28 carries. He reeled off runs of 41 and 37 yards but was limited to numerous gains of 2 and 3 yards by the gang-tackling Warriors. Defensively, Lackawanna got six tackles each from tackle Eddie Bynes and outside linebacker Cedric Baylor while end Kyle Seddon and lineman Manuel Regus were in on five solo stops each.

Saturday's game, played in brilliant Golden Isles sunshine in the first half and then light rain in the second, was close only in the opening period. After MGC sophomore linebacker Walter Burdette scooped up the first of Lackawanna's fumbles and ran 8 yards into the Falcons' end zone, the Pennsylvania visitors came back to tie it at 7 later in the quarter, driving 55 yards in four plays. A 41-yard scamper by Jones, to the Middle Georgia one, was the key gainer and two plays later, QB Pritchyk sneaked over from one yard out. But the remainder of this football game, it was an all Warrior show. MGC boosted its halftime lead to 28-7 on Pittman's 34-yard TD jaunt, a 5-yard run by Brown after Fowler's interception, and then Spencer's 34-yard TD strike to a wide-open Madise. The only score in the second half came with 9:59 left in the game when Pittman notched his second touchdown on a 5-yard burst. MGC sophomore placekicker Tonya Butler was true on all five extra points, including one from 35 yards out...following a 15-yard penalty on the Warriors.



By KEVIN PRICE
Assistant Sports Editor
Brunswick News

Sophomore running back Alan Jones was supposed to be a difference-maker for Lackawanna Junior College in the sixth annual Golden Isles Bowl Saturday against Middle Georgia. Instead, a flurry of turnovers by the Fightin' Falcons including two by Jones and the performance by the Warriors defense actually decided this game that Middle Georgia won 35-7. The Falcons (10-1), who came into the game undefeated and ranked sixth in the country, set bowl records for futility with four interceptions and two fumbles, giving them a total of six turnovers for the game. They committed five of those turnovers in the first half alone and the Warriors turned three into touchdowns as they built a commanding 28-7 lead at halftime. All week, both teams felt the game would be close and something like a turnover might decide the outcome late in the fourth quarter, but neither side expected one team to bury itself with a rash of mistakes like the Falcons did early.
Still, the Warriors, who were ranked ninth coming in and finish 10-1, weren't surprised they forced Lackawanna into so many turnovers. "We had a phenomenal defense three years ago that was the best in the history of junior college football," said Middle Georgia head coach Randy Pippin. "We have the same coaches and the players are different, but we always pride ourselves in creating turnovers and forcing the other team's offense into mistakes like we did today." The winning formula used by Middle Georgia which involved the defense scoring points itself or getting the ball for the offense with good field position is really nothing new for the Warriors. They've won games in similar fashion all season. "The first game of the season we had four turnovers and the second game we got six," said Middle Georgia sophomore safety Eduardo Freeman, who won MVP honors for the Warriors with an interception and a fumble recovery. "Our coaches preach getting turnovers all the time, and we probably averaged three or four a game this year."
Jones committed two of Lackawanna's turnovers on fumbles and both led to touchdowns for the Warriors. On the Falcons' first possession of the game, he lost control of the ball inside his own 10-yard line and Middle Georgia sophomore linebacker Walter Burdette picked up the loose ball and scored the first touchdown of the game. Midway of the second quarter, Jones took a hard hit and lost the ball near midfield. Freeman grabbed it and ran for what appeared to be a touchdown but a clipping penalty against the Warriors nullified it. A few plays later, the Warriors scored anyway for their 28-7 halftime advantage. "The final score speaks for itself, and the turnovers definitely decided it," said Middle Georgia cornerback Chris Fowler, who had one of the Warriors' four picks. "We set the tempo early with the turnovers and that kind of took their confidence away from the beginning." The Falcons committed turnovers on their first three possessions of the game. On their second series, sophomore quarterback Ben Pritchyk was intercepted for the first time by Middle Georgia sophomore safety Michael Sims at his own 30 but the Warriors failed to make that turnover hurt, giving the ball back on downs. The next series, the Falcons drove deep inside Middle Georgia territory, but Freeman picked off a Pritchyk pass in the end zone. The Falcons did tie the score 7-7 in the waning seconds of the first period, but a 34-yard run by Middle Georgia sophomore tailback Tyson Pittman early in the second quarter and a later 5-yard run by sophomore tailback Donte Brown that came after Fowler's interception put the Warriors back in command for good. "We made some mistakes early and couldn't bounce back from them," Jones said. "We knew whoever made the fewest mistakes would win. We made more and lost." Jones, who entered the game with more than 2,000 yards rushing, finished with a game-high 150 yards on 28 carries to take home MVP honors for the Falcons. He gained all but 63 of Lackawanna's total net yards, but other than a 41-yard run and another for 37 yards, the Warriors kept him in check for most of the game. "They had good defense out there today, and things went their way," Jones said. "If we could have played without all the turnovers, the game might have been different. Our defense was holding them for the most part, but our offense didn't produce today."
Pittman was the more effective runner for Middle Georgia. He led the Warriors with 123 yards and scored two touchdowns. "I haven't really had a big game this year, but I've always stepped up in the big games like this one, and this was definitely my best game of the year," Pittman said.
It was a good one for all Warriors.