Tiftarea loses on road

The Tiftarea Academy Panthers football team fell on the road Friday 37-14 to the Mount de Sales Cavaliers.

“They had a tremendous amount of speed and it was hard for us to contain it,” said Tiftarea head coach Marvin Barton.

The Cavaliers scored on the opening drive of the game and led 14-0 early before Tiftarea got on the board with a scoring run by Chad Bowen. The Cavaliers scored again to make the score 21-7 at the half.

The Panthers cut the lead to 21-14 early in the third quarter on a run by Thomas Ganas, but it would be the last time Tiftarea scored on the evening.

“We got some of the rust knocked off us, I guess,” said Barton.

He said that his team would just need to improve on its mistakes to get back on the winning track.

Fitzgerald dominates

The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes football team remained undefeated Friday at home with a 47-6 thrashing of the Albany Indians.

Fitzgerald used a balanced attack to outgain Albany 261 to 130. The Hurricanes were led by Jamea Thomas, who ran for 79 yards on five carries with a score and also scored on a 75-yard kick return.

The Canes got on the board first with a 6-yard pass from Brad Taylor to R.J. Davis. Mauro Meza added the extra point, and Fitzgerald led 7-0 with 10:14 left in the first quarter. Less than a minute later, Trenton Pruitt scored on an 8-yard run and Meza’s kick made the score 14-0.

Fitzgerald’s Jeffrey Baker scored on the first play of the second quarter on a 1-yard run. Meza added an extra point, and Fitzgerald led by 21. Only seconds later, Ward Massey extended the score again with a 6-yard fumble recovery. Meza’s kick made the score 28-0.

With 10:07 left in the second, Albany finally got on the board with a 67-yard run by Barry Diamond. The extra point kick failed.

Thomas added a touchdown run of 15 yards with 4:37 left in the first half. A two-point pass attempt was no good, and the Canes led 34-6.